On December 31, 2009, the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, ruled in favor of the Texas Department of Public Safety, allowing the agency to enforce rules that prevent certain legal immigrants from obtaining a Texas Drivers License.
A Texas trial court had temporarily stopped the Department of Public Safety from requiring that, in order to obtain a driver’s license, non-citizens provide an unexpired United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document issued for at least one year and valid for at least 6 months from the date presented. The trial court also temporarily stopped the Department of Public Safety from issuing driver’s licenses temporary or different in appearance from standard driver’s licenses to individuals because they are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, or because they are lawful permanent residents with an expiration date on their permanent resident card.
The Texas Court of Appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion. As part of its ruling, the Court of Appeals found that neither legal immigrants nor the business employing such individuals proved an actual threatened injury resulting from the Department of Public Safety’s rules. The Department of Public Safety can now enforce these rules in issuing driver’s licenses.
