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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2013 Contacts: Jose Mendez (216) 264-6858 Nick Torres (419) 302-0511 DREAMers Declare Victory After Months of Advocacy DACA Recipients to Receive Licenses in Ohio
COLUMBUS, OH Nearly three months after DREAM Activist Ohio began circulating a letter petitioning Ohio BMV Registrar Mike Rankin to issue drivers licenses to recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the agency has finally concluded its internal review by announcing what advocates knew to be correct all along: DACA recipients are eligible for and should receive drivers licenses. In a media release Friday, Ohio BMV announced that it had instructed its Deputy Registrars to begin issuing licenses to DACA grantees. Im pleased that the BMV is finally clarifying this policy with its offices across the state, however Ive been disappointed that up to this point, the agency has refused to be transparent and uniform in its compliance with the federal guidelines, said Jose Mendez of Cleveland. It took hundreds of signatures on our letter, hundreds of emails to the administration, and countless phone calls, but they finally got the message, added Mendez. I want to thank all of the community advocates, legislators, and staff who helped raise the level of concern and get this taken care of so no one else feels scared to go to get their licenses, he said. In a press conference earlier this month with Ohio Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney and Senator Charleta Tavares, Mendez explained how he felt discriminated and embarrassed by employees at his local license bureau when they told him he didnt belong here and threatened to confiscate his work permit and Social Security card. Since President Obama announced the program on June 15, 2011, over 150,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children have benefitted from work permits and Social Security Numbers. Unofficial estimates from USCIS put the number of recipients around 1,500 for Ohio.

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