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Settlement reached in SPLC lawsuit over Georgia policy denying driver’s licenses to immigrants

Georgia is no longer illegally denying driver’s licenses to thousands of immigrants based on their past – rather than current – immigration status under a settlement agreement announced today to resolve a federal lawsuit by the SPLC and Atlanta immigration attorney Justin W. Chaney.

The state has already notified license officials across the state of the change, resulting in licenses being issued to a reported 2,700 people in a month who might have otherwise been denied. Driver’s licenses have also been issued to the six immigrants who brought the case. A federal judge will oversee the agreement for 18 months.

“Georgia did the right thing by ending this unreasonable policy,” said Naomi Tsu, SPLC deputy legal director. “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.”

The policy denied driver’s licenses to immigrants who, despite their current authorization to stay and work in the United States, were unable to demonstrate a history of continuous lawful presence. Under the settlement agreement, Georgia residents with a pending application for lawful permanent residency (also known as a green card) may obtain a driver’s license.

The state changed the policy in May, shortly after the SPLC filed the lawsuit. A month later, 2,753 licenses were issued to people authorized to work in the United States while the federal government processed their applications for a green card, according to the state Department of Driver Services’ statements in the agreement.

That figure translates to an average of 119 licenses issued per business day to people who may have been denied under the previous policy, according to the agreement. Before the policy change on May 16, Georgia had issued an average of only 19 licenses per business day (1,872 total) to such applicants for all of 2016.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of six immigrants who were denied licenses by Georgia even though they are approved to work in the United States as they await green cards – a process that can take several years. Some of the plaintiffs had valid driver’s licenses for years but were denied when they attempted to renew them after the policy took effect in 2015. Thousands of other Georgia residents also stood to lose their driver’s licenses under the policy.

“I’m relieved that Georgia has ended a policy that caused so much needless hardship for immigrants with permission to live and work in this country,” said Jorge Rosillo Zaragoza. “We no longer have to worry about how we will get to work and meet other obligations. We can be productive members of the community.”

Under Georgia law, driving without a license can result in hefty fines and a prison sentence of up to five years.

“It was right for the state to finally end this discriminatory policy affecting so many Georgia immigrants,” said Chaney, the Atlanta immigration attorney. “In changing this practice, Georgia has affirmed that immigration enforcement is solely the business of the federal government.”

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Under the settlement, Georgia did not admit liability under state or federal law.