daca ohio bmv letter 2.8.13

7/29/2019 DACA Ohio BMV Letter 2.8.13

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February 8, 2013

Mike DeWine

Ohio Attorney General

State Office Tower17th Floor

30 E. Broad St.Columbus, OH 43215

Mike Rankin

Registrar

Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles

1970 W. Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43223

Dear Attorney General DeWine and Registrar Rankin:

On June 15, 2012, the Obama administration announced that certain immigrants who

were brought to the United States as children would be eligible for what is known as deferred

action. Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion in which federal authorities

determine not to take action to remove certain individuals from the United States. On August 15,

2012 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting

applications for this new type of deferred action, known as Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals, or DACA, and in January 2013, USCIS reported that over 150,000 young people have

been approved for this program thus far.

It has come to the attention of the undersigned Ohio attorneys and community members

that several individuals who have been granted deferred action have recently experiencedproblems obtaining Ohio drivers licenses. The various issues that have come to the attention of

this group suggest a lack of uniformity in how different Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices

treat DACA grantees. For this reason, we are writing to respectfully request that the Registrar of

Motor Vehicles issue affirmative instructions to all license-issuing offices in the state clarifying

that DACA grantees are eligible to receive an Ohio drivers license.

As you know, Ohio law does not affirmatively set forth the eligibility criteria for receiving

an Ohio drivers license. Instead, R.C. 4507.08(D) prohibits the issuance of a drivers license

to any of seven enumerated categories of people, including [a]ny person who is not a resident

or temporary resident of this state.1 R.C. 4507.01(A) defines resident as a person who, in

accordance with standards prescribed in rules adopted by the registrar, resides in this state on apermanent basis, and defines temporary resident as a person who, in accordance with

standards prescribed in rules adopted by the registrar, resides in this state on a temporary

1O.R.C. 4507.08(D)


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basis.2 Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether individual DACA grantees meet the prescribed

standards for permanent or temporary Ohio residency.

Ohio Administrative Code 4501:1-1-35 restricts the issuance of Ohio drivers licenses

to persons qualifying as residents of Ohio, defined as a native-born or naturalized citizen of the

United States or a person who presents credible evidence from the United States citizen and

immigration services (USCIS) that the person is a permanent resident of the United States.3

However, the language of O.A.C. 4501:1-1-35(A) explicitly contemplates that persons who do

not qualify as residents under the aforementioned definition are still eligible for nonrenewable

licenses and nonrenewable identification cards.4

O.A.C. 4501:1-1-35(B) reads, in its entirety: A nonrenewable license or nonrenewable

identification card may be issued to a temporary resident of this state when the applicant

presents acceptable documents, including those listed in rule 4501:1-1-21 of the Administrative

Code, verifying the following: the applicants full legal name, date of birth, social security number

if ever assigned, proof of Ohio street address and legal presence in the United States, and

temporary residence in this state.

O.A.C. 4501:1-1-35(A)(4) defines legal presence in the following words: Legal

presence means for the purposes of this rule that the individual has taken the necessary steps

to ensure that they have a recognizable legal status with the United States as evidenced by the

appropriate legal documents issued by the United States citizen and immigration services

(USCIS).

The key phrase to establishing that DACA grantees are eligible for Ohio drivers licenses

is recognizable legal status, which is not a term specifically defined in state or federal law.

However, it can quickly be established by reference to several additional authorities that DACA

grantees do meet the Ohio Administrative Codes recognizable legal status test. First, 6 CFR 37.3 includes an alien who has approved deferred action status within the federal definition of

lawful status. Since DACA is a form of deferred action, DACA grantees clearly satisfy the

federal test. Second, USCIS is very clear on its Frequently Asked Questions website (a copy of

which is appended to this letter) that [a]n individual who has received deferred action is

authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be present in the United States,

and is therefore considered by DHS to be lawfully present during the period deferred action is in

effect. The fact that a DACA grantee is specifically authorized by DHS to be in the United

States and considered to be lawfully present is plainly a recognizable legal status inasmuch

as USCIS has authorized DACA grantees to be present in the United States for the duration of

their deferment, and has provided them with legal documents that comply with the requirements

of O.A.C. 4501:1-1-21.

2O.R.C. 4507.01(A)

3O.A.C. 4501:1-1-35

4O.A.C. 4501:1-1-35(A) reads, in its entirety: No Ohio drivers license, commercial drivers license,

motorcycle operators license, temporary instruction permit identification card (TIPIC) or identification cardother than a nonrenewable license or a nonrenewable identification cardshall be issued to any personunless that person qualifies as a resident of Ohio under this rule. (emphasis added)


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Because several other states have, for apparently ideological reasons, announced that

they will not comply with federal guidance establishing that DACA recipients are eligible for state

drivers licenses, and because at least one federal lawsuit is currently underway charging one of

those states with unconstitutional behavior, it is understandable that there should be confusion

among state officials about the rights and privileges conferred by DACA status. As has been

noted in complaints filed against states that are not in compliance with federal guidance onDACA grantees, failure to confer driver's licenses to DACA recipients would impermissibly

regulate immigration by creating a new state-based classification of noncitizens that treats

DACA recipients as though they were unauthorized and unlawfully present, and would expose

Ohio to the same kind of federal lawsuits currently pending against non-complying states. The

undersigned appreciate the fact that prior to its abrupt and unexplained policy change, Ohio had

been issuing licenses to DACA grantees, and simply request that the Registrar explicitly clarify

that DACA grantees are eligible to receive drivers licenses in Ohio.

We appreciate your kind attention to this matter.

Very truly yours,

Brian J. Hoffman, Esq., Columbus

Richard Herman, Esq., Cleveland

Matthew Benson, Esq., Cincinnati

Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez,

Esq., Columbus

Laura M. Jurcevich, Esq., Columbus

Jorge Martinez, Esq., Hamilton

Barbara Fernandez, Esq., Columbus

Deifilia Daz, Esq., Mason

Alex Durst, Esq., Cincinnati

Angie Plummer, JD., Columbus

Scott Culbert, Esq., Delaware

Ambrose Moses, III, Esq., Columbus

Bob Fitrakis, Esq., Columbus

Lynn Tramonte, Cleveland Heights

Paula M. Jackson, Cincinnati

Nick Torres, Columbus

Angy Valencia, Columbus

Jose Trevino, Toledo

Joel Diaz, Columbus

Veronica Isabel Dahlberg, Painesville

Padraic Stanley, Findlay

Paige Jessee, Cincinnati

Esteban Ortiz, Wilmington

Sister Mary Wendeln, Silverton

Lauren Hines, Columbus

Uzuki Cahue, Hilliard

Craig King, Columbus

Janelle Henderson, Columbus

Gabriela Santiago, Columbus

Barbara Glueck, Cincinnati


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Heather Yomboro, Hilliard

Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta, Hilliard

Rev. Joan Vanbecelaere, Columbus

Nancy Holman, Columbus

David Boggs, Columbus

Sandy Wong, Columbus

Kyla Snow, Westerville

Sylvia Vasquez, Columbus

Andrew Murry, MD, Lancaster

Maritza Motino, Columbus

Carol Nowlin, Hilliard

Gloria Schanely, Columbus

Esmeralda Flores, Columbus

Ines Valdez, Columbus

Tani Kushner, Columbus

Karen Castro, Canal Winchester

Dr. Robert Hines, Columbus

Diana Pagan, Columbus

Brian Williams, Columbus

Deanna Stickley-Miner, Columbus

Leslie Espinoza, Columbus

Eric Hernandez, Columbus

Laura Gomez, Columbus

Natalie Dibartola, Columbus

Augusto Sanchez, Columbus

Yalidy Matos, Columbus

Connie Hammond, Columbus

Carol Apaestegui, Stow

Cristal G, Columbus

Manuel Perez, Cincinnati

Robin Burnette, Columbus

Kelly O'Rourke, Columbus

Tony Chou, Columbus

Walthinho Casanova, Columbus

Evava Pietri, Columbus

Max Dwinne, Columbus

Jesus Ventura, Columbus

Laura Santiago, Columbus

Sarahy Farias, Columbus

Kenneth Ramos, Pickerington

Judy Crawford, Westerville

Laura Little, Groveport

Nolan Stevens, Columbus

Debra Sanborn, Groveport

Maria Apaestegui, Stow

Rohany Flores, Columbus

Erika Ruelas, Galloway

Daisy Torres, Worthington

Ana Osorio, Columbus

Marisol Guijosa, Columbus

Jenny Polanco, Columbus

Iliana Gomez, Grove City


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Andrea Herrera, Columbus

Irma Nonato, Columbus

Juan Segura, Hilliard

Deborah Wang, Kent

Jillian Park, Columbus

Ron Irvine, New Paris

Nyasia, Detroit

John Stroman, Columbus

Adriana Castillo, Dublin

Rebecca Tollefson, Worthington

Victalina Montejo, Dublin

Joanna Rodriguez, Galloway

Jose A Hernandez, Kent

Eunice Park, Cleveland

Marco Saavedra, Columbus

Eleazar Sanchez, Columbus

Paul Sonenberg, Columbus

Becky Guzman, Columbus

Teresa Parsons Jabe, Columbus

Maria Arriaga, Columbus

Ana Delgado, Akron

Gladis Sandoval, Columbus

Manuel Bartsch, Findlay

Courtney Pugno, Delaware

David G. Hogan, Delaware

Maria Renee Banig, Tallmadge

Marisol Duarte Lopez, Columbus

Rebecca Jenkins, Akron

Naomi Hokky, Ravenna

Cheryl Edie, Delphos

Nancy Connor, Columbus

Francine Stacy, Dayton

Mark D. Stansbery, Columbus

Jose Villegas, Columbus

Erin Mckinney, Chesterland

Yanheli Lopez, Hilliard

Anita Rios, Toledo

Larren Mcbride, Columbus

Maggie Baxter, Columbus

Jennifer Hess, Pickerington

Karen James, Worthington

Sarah Schneider, Pataskala

Jenny Sigler, Columbus

Jennifer Bartley, Columbus

Rikki Baxter, Columbus

Joshua Bohinc, Grandview Heights

Megan Sutherland, Columbus

Anna Roberto, Columbus

Jason Fullen, Hilliard Northwest News,

Hilliard This Week

Chelsea Skaggs, Columbus

Natalie Dibartola, Columbus

Dorothy Christensen, Westerville


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Elizabeth Sierra, Columbus

Samantha Feierabend, Pickerington

Sandra Hamilton, Ada

Christine Gilmore, Hilliard

Erin Hammond, Granville

Kenneth Adler, Sylvania

Benjamin Wellman, Columbus

Sue Morrissey, Cincinnati

Sean Nestor, Toledo

Louise Hernandez, Kent

Alyssa Shumaker, Westerville

Lewis Beman, Westerville

David Yingling, Enon

Katherine Plank, Plain City

Margaret Singer, Cincinnati

Don Bryant, Cleveland

Maria Torres, Dublin

Kate Snow, Westerville

Esteban Badillo, Hilliard

Judith G Ramirez Torres, Columbus

Eduardo Biffi, Columbus

Bill Christensen, Columbus

Kerry Davis, Gahanna

Mark Sullivan, Westerville

Nicole Mills, Westerville

Kenneth Warren, Westerville

Sarah Ammerman, Columbus

Cynthia Smith, Columbus

Joshua D Wilson, Columbus

Melinda Layman, Pickerington

Andreanna Doane, Westerville

Dana Hazen, Columbus

Mike Szlapak, Westerville

Bill Canonico, Columbus

Daniel Nathan, Bexley

Sher Isaacs, Columbus

Nannette Horn, Columbus

William Scott, Columbus

Debra Griffin, Westerville

Matt Shetler, Columbus

Bernie Larsen, Columbus

Staci Rue, Columbus

Liz Gee, Lewis Center

Kristin Maccaughey, Columbus

Carol Achmoody, Westerville

Brooke Bohinc, Columbus

Rachell Smith, Bexley

Linda Mcpherson, Columbus

Andrew Saperstein, Westerville

Deborah Whitney-Scott, Westerville

Christopher Scott, Westerville

Jeannine Panovich, Westerville


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Mark Batcheck, Columbus

Jonathan Rue, Westerville

Lauren Scott, Columbus

Valerie Middleton, Columbus

Christian Root, Columbus

Joyce Shuster, Columbus

Andrew Oswalt, Columbus

Rhodara Shreve, Columbus

Alicia Streicher, Westerville

Marlene Nathan, Westerville

Amy Moorehead, Dublin

Lorie Kaufman Rees, Columbus

Beulah Kishore, Westerville

Christophaer Andrew Wade, Columbus

Melody Kulp, Grove City

Corey Garris, Dublin

Noelle Shearer, Westerville

Jeff Baker, Westerville

Craig Heselton, Columbus

Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, Kent

Barbara Castanien, Gahanna

Thalita Pontes, Blacklick

George Garshar, Youngstown

daca ohio bmv letter 2.8.13

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