Jan Brewer Signs Order Banning Young Arizona Immigrants from State Services, Driver's Licenses

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer speaks to the press outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington (Photo : Reuters)

Jan Brewer, Arizona's governor, has signed an executive order banning young immigrants from receiving driver's licenses and other state benefits in an apparent move to challenge Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program .  

In order to be eligible for immunity, the applicant must have entered the United States before their sixteenth birthday and must be younger than thirty. Additionally, residence on US soil for five consecutive years, a clean police record, and a High School Diploma or GED is necessary for eligibility. However, military service can substitute a degree.

Like Us on Facebook

Although those eligible for Obama's immigration reform program will be immune from deportation if their application is accepted, the imposition of state restrictions has dulled the enthusiasm of immigration activists and sparked protests organized by the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.

Brewer's order reads, "Allowing more than an estimated 80,000 Deferred Action recipients improper access to state and local public benefits" would have "significant and lasting impacts on the Arizona budget, its healthcare system, and additional public benefits that Arizona taxpayers fund."

The governor asserted Arizona's protest in the face of federal reform, continuing to say that "the issuance of Deferred Action employment authorization documents to unlawfully present aliens does not confer upon them any lawful or authorized status and does not entitle them to any additional public benefit."

Arizona's reaction to immigration reform affirms Obama's notion that this step is "not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship, it's not a permanent fix, this is a temporary stop gap measure."

Although illegal immigrants are allowed to stay in the United States, they are still not legally recognized as lawful citizens.