Nearly 3,000 immigrants awaiting a green card can now get a legal driver’s license, thanks to a settlement agreement announced Monday with Georgia’s Department of Driver Services (DDS).
The lawsuit — filed on behalf of six immigrants waiting to process their applications for lawful permanent residency, also known as a green card — claimed the agency illegally denied driver’s licenses to immigrants even though they had the right to work and live in the United States.
The immigrants involved in the suit, which was brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), alleged that a DDS policy “categorically” denied driver’s licenses to people who may have legal status now, but who were “unable to demonstrate a history of continuous lawful presence.”
The plaintiffs included immigrants from Canada, India, Mexico, and Somalia, who said this policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because it discriminated against non-citizens whom the federal government had authorized to stay and work in the United States.
According to a SPLC press release, Georgia changed the policy in May shortly after the lawsuit was filed. Since then, 2,753 licenses were issued to people authorized to work in the United States.
“Georgia did the right thing by ending this unreasonable policy,” Naomi Tsu, SPLC’s deputy legal director, said in the press release. “It only served to punish people with every right to be in this country. We’re glad that the state recognized that this discriminatory policy was unacceptable.”
Under Georgia’s SB 350, driving without a license is a felony for which penalties can range from a large fine to a prison sentence up to five years. But because it can take years to get a green card, thanks in part to a significant visa backlog, the DDS policy has created consequences for immigrants who need to drive to support their families.
“I have a work permit, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the state of Georgia,” plaintiff Victor Escobedo said in May. “I pay taxes and I am pursuing legal permanent residency, but I am suddenly not eligible to drive. I need to drive to get to work so I can support my family.”
The DDS policy disproportionately impacted Latino and African American drivers, according to a report by the civil rights groups Advancement Project and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. Based on data from three Georgia counties that enforced SB 350, researchers found that blacks and Latinos were singled out, often imposed with initial violations ranging from $500 to $1,000. The law has also made immigrant communities increasingly “wary of local police officers during traffic stops,” the report found.
Other studies have found that giving driver’s licenses to people, regardless of their immigrant status, boosts public safety for all. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than are people with valid driver’s licenses. And immigrants without identification are more likely to avoid contact with state and local law enforcement, making them unwilling to report crimes and assist in community policing activities.