Class Action Alleges Immigrants Denied Arizona Driver’s Licenses

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A class action has been filed against the state of Arizona for denying driver’s licenses to immigrants, even though those immigrants have been allowed to stay in the U.S. and are eligible to seek employment.

According to the complaint, “Arizona’s practice of denying driver’s licenses and identification cards to certain lawfully present noncitizens with employment authorization…violates the Supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution[.]”

In addition, the class action contends that Arizona’s policy “discriminates against noncitizens without any valid justification, or even a rational basis, [and therefore] Arizona’s practice violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution[.]”

The Arizona immigrants driver’s license denial class action was brought by a group of plaintiffs who all assert that they are allowed to be in the U.S. by the federal government.

The complaint states that the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) grants some immigrants “Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)” status for various reasons, such as victims of human trafficking or terrorism.

Under federal law such “deferred action” holders can also receive employment authorization. The class action argues that this federal deferred action program is within the authority of DHS, because the federal government has power over “administration and enforcement” of national immigration laws.

“Regardless of the reason that an individual is granted deferred action, the result is the same: the federal government has authorized an individual’s presence in the United States,” the complaint asserts.

According to the class action lawsuit, Arizona’s refusal to issue driver’s licenses to people with this deferred action status is in violation of that federal authority.

The Arizona law states that an applicant for a driver’s license or identification card must submit proof that the applicant’s “presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.”

Before 2012, the Arizona Department of Transportation accepted federal employment authorization documents (EADs) and issued those individuals driver’s licenses.

However, after the federal government announced its new program granting “deferred action” to people who arrived in the U.S. as children, the governor of Arizona issued a new policy to stop accepting EADs as proof of lawfully being in the United States.

The plaintiffs in this action all were granted “deferred action” status by DHS for different reasons.

Plaintiff Yuvianel Osoria has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen and has spina bifida.

Plaintiff Marcos Gonzalez has lived in Arizona for most of his life, and was previously issued an Arizona driver’s license, but was denied a renewal.

Plaintiff Maria del Carmen Cruz Hernandez was granted “U nonimmigrant status” for helping law enforcement prosecute her abuser.

Plaintiffs Lucrecia Rivas Valenzuela and Guadalupe Karina Nava Rivera have both lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, and are waiting for visas under the same U nonimmigrant status program.

All of the plaintiffs state that they tried to obtain Arizona driver’s licenses, and have been harmed by Arizona’s denial.

The Arizona immigrant driver’s license denial class action argues that Arizona already lost a similar case involving a different class of people granted “deferred action” status by DHS.

For the same reasons as that case, the complaint alleges that Arizona’s continued denial of licenses to the plaintiffs violates the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of “all individuals who present or will present an EAD in order to establish authorized presence but will nevertheless be denied an Arizona driver’s license and identification cards[.]”

The class action requests an injunction stopping this practice by the Arizona governor and Department of Transportation.

Plaintiffs are represented by Daniel R. Ortega, Jr., of the Ortega Law Firm, P.C., Karen C. Tumlin, Nicholas Espiritu, Nora A. Preciado, and Tanya Broder of the National Immigration Law Center, and Victor Viramontes and Julia Gomez of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The Arizona Immigrants Driver’s License Denial Class Action Lawsuit is Yuvianel Osoria, et al., v. Doug Ducey, et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-03072, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

UPDATE: On Feb. 2, 2018, the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit alleging Arizona improperly denies driver’s licenses to DACA recipients say the state must be stopped from implementing its policy immediately.