It seems like the battle over whether or not undocumented immigrants should be allowed to have drivers licenses has been going on for decades now, with both sides celebrating gains and protesting losses in the fight. The newest chapter in this story is that The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) is suing the Texas Department of Public Safety on behalf of some immigrant workers and their employer:

The men are landscaping workers in North Texas who need to drive as part of their job but could not obtain a Texas driver’s license under the new DPS policies because their visas are valid for only 10 months.

DPS rules exclude people from receiving driver’s licenses if they have a visa for less than one year or have less than six months remaining on it, MALDEF said.

Officials also changed the appearance of driver’s licenses for persons with legal permission to be in the U.S. so that they differ from licenses given to citizens and green card holders. MALDEF contends the Public Safety Commission, which oversees DPS, exceeded its authority and did not have Legislative approval to adopt the rules.

Very sneaky, DPS! I guess you thought as undocumented immigrants these people were defenseless, but luckily there are orgs like MALDEF around to (at least try) to fight the good fight.

Oh, and by the way, President Obama supported licenses for the undocumented during his campaign. Let’s see if he continues along these lines.

Via / Chron.com

Image via Erik on Flickr