Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have made it easier for young undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license in Florida.
While the veto has symbolic ramifications, it doesn’t necessarily mean these young people won’t be able to drive.
The bill would have expedited the process of getting a driver’s license for undocumented young people who aren’t US citizens, but have deferred action status under the federal government’s new rules.
Shalini Goel Agarwall,a staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida, said the bill would have allowed them to get a driver’s license as soon as the federal government lets them know they can stay in the country.
Right now, young people with deferred action have to wait until the feds give them a workers’ permit before getting a license, which takes longer.
“We think that the effect is frankly not that great given that they were already getting the licenses,” Agarwall said. “I think it’s mostly a symbolic effort to recognize that these are young people that have grown up in our communities, who are getting jobs and should be able to drive to them without being impeded.”
House Bill 235 passed with bipartisan support in the Republican-led Florida Legislature.
A year ago this month the Obama Administration changed immigration rules allowing undocumented young people brought here by their parents to stay in the US.
Scott said he vetoed the bill because the change in federal law was through an executive order and not through Congress.
