Today, February 3, is my birthday. And in Michigan, you know what that means. No, I'm not talking about moaning about six more weeks of winter because the Ground Hog saw his shadow yesterday. The Ground Hog never sees his shadow in Michigan on Feb. 2 because the sun never shines during the winter in Michigan so that predicator is totally worthless in our state.
No, I'm talking about renewing my driver's license. I was able to do it by mail before leaving town for a week, and when I got home my brand new license -- good until my birthday 2012 -- was waiting for me in the mailbox.
My husband retrieved the mail, opened it, and tossed the license on my desk without a word late last night. I didn't even notice it until this morning (February 3, 2008).
And that's when it hit me. A driver's license is so inconsequential, so taken-for-granted, by U.S. citizens like me that it didn't even rate a mention. Not even as exciting as receiving an entry in the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Just a driver's license.
Yet for other people, driver's licenses are something to fight over. Americans are divided over whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to get driver's licenses.
And in Michigan, Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land has taken such a stiff-necked position that she won't even issue licenses to people who are here legally and temporarily, but are not U.S. citizens -- such as foreign students, corporate executives, even professional athletes here on temporary visas.
I guess Land and her fellow Republican, Attorney General Mike Cox, figure it's not important to know whether such people know Michigan laws when they get behind the wheel and take to the roads with the rest of us. And what does it say to businesses from other countries that might want to open operations here that their employees could not drive -- in the home of the automobile industry!
But the American Civil Liberties Union is preparing a legal challenge to Land's position. It is looking for people who are barred from receiving licenses under the policy who would be willing to sign an affidavit and be named as a plaintiff in the suit. Other plaintiffs may be businesses whose employees are impacted by the policy.
Interested people may contact Mike Steinberg, the legal director of the ACLU
Michigan, at 313-578-6800.
Help if you can.
3 comments:
Happy birthday, Judy! :-)
Yesterday's NY Times had an op-ed on voter ID laws by Jimmy Carter and James Baker, who co-chaired the bipartisan Commission on Federal Electoral Reform in 2005.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/opinion/03carter.html?em&ex=1202274000&en=061c5c7225cd4661&ei=5087%0A
I am an international student who lives in Livingston County and commutes to Oakland and Washtenaw Counties for graduate studies. I was fortunate that I was able to renew my license in time.
Moving on campus is not an option for me at this time, so I would have to withdraw from classes and return to my country. I shop, buy gas, pay rent, pay tuition... I contribute in many ways to Michigan's economy - all of which would disappear were I to leave. Now, multiply that by the thousands of non-citizens who are legally in Michigan but are not allowed to apply for a driver's license. I think we can all agree that this state does not need another blow to its economy.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit today in Ingham County Circuit Court challenging the Secretary of State’s unlawful denial of driver’s licenses to thousands of Michigan residents. The Secretary of State, relying on what she calls a flawed Attorney General opinion, has refused to issue a driver’s license to countless immigrants working and living in Michigan legally.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of six Michigan residents who have permission from the federal government to live and work in the U.S., including: a Canadian nurse who resides in Muskegon; an Indian doctor who treats an underserved population in Flint; a University of Michigan language assessment specialist from Singapore, and a political refugee in Detroit who was granted asylum after being tortured for his political activity in Africa. The ACLU also represents Freedom House, a Detroit organization that aids survivors of persecution from around the world who have been granted asylum in this country.
On Dec. 27, Attorney General Mike Cox issued a formal opinion suggesting that only U.S. citizens and individuals with “green cards” are eligible for a driver’s license and not other individuals who live and work in Michigan legally. The opinion contradicts former Attorney General Frank Kelley’s formal opinion, which stated that the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code clearly allows all residents to apply for licenses whether they are citizens or not.
Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, while stating that she believes that the Cox opinion is wrong, contends that she is bound by the opinion. Even though Cox now states that Land has misinterpreted his opinion and that, in fact, all immigrants in this country legally can apply for a license, Land has refused to issue licenses to anyone but U.S. citizens and green card holders.
The ACLU lawsuit asks the court to order the Secretary of State to resume issuing driver’s licenses to all residents, including immigrants who live and work in the state who intend to remain.
To read the complaint, visit: https://www.aclumich.org/pdf/licensecomplaint.pdf
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