The Iowa Department of Transportation has changed its perspective and
will now issue driver’s licenses or nonoperator ID cards to people who
have been approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
status after a change in guidance by USCIS and the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS).
On Friday, January 18, 2013, USCIS changed the definition of persons
granted DACA status to being “authorized granted Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrival status are “authorized by the Department of Homeland
Security to be present in the United States and considered to be
lawfully present during their deferred action [time period].”
Under Iowa legislation, driver’s licenses and nonoperator IDs can only
be issued to foreign nationals authorized to be present in the U.S.
Because of this change in definition by USCIS, Iowa’s Department of
Transportation can now legally issue these IDs to people granted DACA
status.
