7/29/2019 BMV Victory Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 29, 2013Contacts:

Jose Mendez(216) 264-6858

Nick Torres(419) 302-0511

DREAMers Declare Victory After Months of Advocacy DACA Recipients to ReceiveLicenses in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH Nearly three months after DREAM Activist Ohio began circulating a letter

petitioning Ohio BMV Registrar Mike Rankin to issue drivers licenses to recipients of DeferredAction for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the agency has finally concluded its internal review by

announcing what advocates knew to be correct all along: DACA recipients are eligible for andshould receive drivers licenses.

In a media release Friday, Ohio BMV announced that it had instructed its Deputy Registrars tobegin issuing licenses to DACA grantees.

Im pleased that the BMV is finally clarifying this policy with its offices across the state, howeverIve been disappointed that up to this point, the agency has refused to be transparent and uniform

in its compliance with the federal guidelines, said Jose Mendez of Cleveland. It took hundreds ofsignatures on our letter, hundreds of emails to the administration, and countless phone calls, but

they finally got the message, added Mendez. I want to thank all of the community advocates,legislators, and staff who helped raise the level of concern and get this taken care of so no one

else feels scared to go to get their licenses, he said.

In a press conference earlier this month with Ohio Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney andSenator Charleta Tavares, Mendez explained how he felt discriminated and embarrassed by

employees at his local license bureau when they told him he didnt belong here and threatened to

confiscate his work permit and Social Security card.

Since President Obama announced the program on June 15, 2011, over 150,000 undocumentedimmigrants brought to the US as children have benefitted from work permits and Social SecurityNumbers. Unofficial estimates from USCIS put the number of recipients around 1,500 for Ohio.

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