Jan Brewer Denies Drivers Licenses To DREAMers

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer didn’t miss a step in maintaining her state’s reputation as being the toughest on undocumented immigrants. On the same day that President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals went into effect Brewer countered with a directive of her own. CBS News reports:

Gov. Jan Brewer signed an executive order Wednesday directing state agencies to deny driver’s licenses and other public benefits to illegal immigrants who obtain work authorizations under a new federal program.

Her executive order includes state services. Her reasoning is that the deferment does not grant undocumented immigrants legal status, and therefore they are not eligible to obtain driver’s licences. A spokesperson for the Governor’s office gave this statement to the Arizona Republic:

As the (Department of Homeland Security) has said repeatedly … these individuals do not have lawful status,” Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson told the Republic. “They are able to remain in the country and not be deported, and not be prosecuted, but they do not have lawful status.

So far, a group calle dthe Arizona DREAM Act Coalition has called Brewer’s executive order “bullying defenseless young people.” Again CBS News:

We are saddened that Governor Brewer is siding with the past, against progress, against young people and the general support the DREAM Act has in the general population,” Dulce Matuz, Arizona DREAM Act Coalition (ADAC) chair said in a statement.