Reversal: State to issue driver's licenses to immigrants - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Reversal: State to issue driver's licenses to immigrants

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Posted By Tom Plahutnik, Web Editor/Producer - email
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -

By DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press

Michigan's secretary of state is reversing course and says she will issue driver's licenses to young illegal immigrants allowed to stay in the country by a presidential order.

Republican Ruth Johnson says she changed her mind after the Obama administration issued a clarification saying it considered the affected people to be lawfully present in the U.S.

Illegal immigrants can receive renewable, two-deportation reprieves if they were brought into the U.S. as children.

Johnson has come under fire from Michigan immigration advocates who say immigrants eligible for work permits have had no way to legally drive.

All states except a few have issued licenses to this group of immigrants. Iowa last week also reversed course.

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