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Michigan flips, now bars illegal immigrant licenses
Associated Press
Published December 28, 2007
LANSING, Mich. - Illegal immigrants are ineligible for drivers' licenses, Michigan's attorney general said Thursday in an opinion that affects one of the few states that have been giving them to undocumented residents. Attorney General Mike Cox's opinion is legally binding on state agencies and officers unless reversed by the courts. It was not known how soon any changes would take place or what the opinion means for illegal immigrants with current licenses. Michigan law bars the secretary of state from issuing a driver's license to a nonresident. Cox, a Republican, said it would be inconsistent with federal law to regard an illegal immigrant as a permanent resident in Michigan. The opinion supersedes an opinion by former Democratic Attorney General Frank Kelley, who suggested that denying a license to an illegal immigrant might violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause, according to Cox.
[Last modified December 27, 2007, 22:53:21]
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