Iowa civil rights activists say new information from the federal government should prompt a change in the state's policy barring driver's licenses for young immigrants allowed by a federal rule to live in the United States.
On Friday the federal government issued new guidance clarifying that young people allowed to remain in the country by a policy enacted by President Obama are considered to be authorized residents. Governor Terry Branstad's administration announced in December that the federal law didn't give people the legal status to get a driver's license.
Immigrants allowed to receive renewable, two-year deportation reprieves must have been brought into the U.S. as children and must meet specific age, residency and education requirements.
Branstad said on Tuesday that his administration was reviewing the new federal guidance.
