DOT removes pink stripe from licenses

The N.C. Department of Transportation has amended a decision to issue driver’s licenses with a controversial design — but advocates say the changes are not extensive enough.

The original proposed license design, which included a pink stripe to distinguish citizens from noncitizens, raised concerns among immigrant advocacy groups.

The N.C. Attorney General’s office had released a statement in January requiring DMV offices to issue the licenses starting Monday.

But the Department of Transportation announced just a few days before, on Thursday, that the licenses would not be issued with the stripe.

However, the licenses will still be marked with “NO LAWFUL STATUS” and “LIMITED TERM.”

State law requires all temporary licenses to feature a distinctive mark, and the final license design will ease implementation, according to a press release from the department.

North Carolina joins 33 other states in issuing the licenses, which are permissible per the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

The policy, enacted by President Barack Obama last year, offers temporary work or school permits to immigrants brought illegally to the country before the age of 16.

To receive a license, recipients in the program must provide the same documents as citizens — proof of age and identity, residency, Social Security and liability insurance — as well as proof of legal presence by the U.S. government.

Program participants must also take a road and written exam and provide proof of auto insurance.
Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata said in the press release that the license changes will make the roads as safe as possible.

Still, some immigration groups say more needs to be done.

Jose Torres-Don, who works with the N.C. DREAM Team’s coordinating committee, said that though the DMV’s removal of the pink stripe on the license was a step in the right direction, the alteration does not address the larger problem of discrimination toward immigrants.

“We welcome the license as an option that we did not have before,” Torres-Don said.

“At the end of the day, we are still subject to deportation and harassment.”

Ron Woodard, director of N.C. Listen, an immigration reform group, said the license changes will not help curb illegal immigration.

“I certainly understand the dilemma young people are in because of their parents, but what we should be considering are the consequences of immigration changes.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.