Michigan to Issue Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigrants brought to the country as children can start applying for Michigan driver’s licenses and state IDs.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office began accepting applications on Feb. 19.

President Barack Obama last year announced a policy letting illegal immigrants apply for temporary work permits if they were brought to the U.S. as children. But a small number of states including Michigan resisted allowing those immigrants to have driver’s licenses.

Johnson, a Republican, changed her mind recently ago after the Obama administration clarified the younger immigrants’ legal status.

To be eligible, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, are 30 or younger, have been living in the country at least five years and are in school, have graduated or served in the military.