Politics

Civil Rights Groups Urge DMV To Grant Immigrant Driver's Licenses

WUNC | By Gurnal Scott

Published January 15, 2013 at 11:40 AM EST

The North Carolina ACLU is urging the state DMV to continue issuing driver's licenses to some immigrants.

The state's Department of Motor Vehicles has suspended its practice of granting licenses to immigrants allowed in the country under a federal policy, Immigrants registered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative are allowed to stay in the country if they meet certain guidelines such as having arrived in the country before age 16, graduating high school or attending college or serving in the military.

The DMV says it will not hand out licenses to these immigrants until the state Attorney General issues an opinion on the matter. The ACLU and the North Carolina Justice Center have written a letter to state attorney general Roy Cooper supporting licenses for young immigrants. The ACLU has filed lawsuits over similar restrictions in Michigan and Arizona.

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Gurnal Scott

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.

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