Michigan to Issue Driver’s Licenses to Qualifying Noncitizens

The Michigan Secretary of State will begin to issue driver’s licenses to noncitizen residents of the state who qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program announced last year by President Barak Obama.

“Michigan will only issue driver’s licenses to individuals who are here legally,” Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said. “The feds now say they consider these young people to be lawfully present while they participate in the DACA program, so we are required to issue driver’s licenses and identification cards. I will continue to follow the law.”

For a noncitizen to gain DACA eligibility, minimum requirements include that he or she must have entered the country before the age of 16 and be currently under 30, have been living in the U.S. for at least 5 years, are in school, have graduated, or in the military, and do not have certain disqualifying criminal convictions.

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