LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska has ended the nation’s last ban on driving privileges for young people brought into the United States illegally as children.
Senators in the one-house Legislature voted 34-10 on Thursday to override Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has backed the strict policy that left Nebraska as the only state to deny the licenses to the youths granted temporary protection from deportation.
Senators said Nebraska youth who have been granted deferred-action status contribute to the state’s economy and should not be penalized for their parents’ actions.
President Barack Obama announced an executive action in 2012 that creates the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gives the youths a Social Security number, a two-year work permit and protection from deportation.
Although a few states initially announced that they would deny licenses to those youths, only Arizona and Nebraska adopted policies to exclude them. A court blocked Arizona’s law in July.
