This happened the week before last, but I’m not sure it will matter at this point.
On [July 29], Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled against the Texas Department of Public Safety and said that the agency could no longer require those here on temporary visas to prove they are in the country legally in order to receive a standard driver’s license.
In 2008, a Texas state panel approved a measure which issued non-standard licenses to immigrants in the country on a temporary basis. That action was taken in an effort to crack down on identity theft and fraud.
Many people who come to this country on various types of travel orders simply overstay their visas and become illegal aliens. If they already have a standard driver’s license it is much easier for them to obtain another one as well as jobs, bank accounts, loans, etc.
The plaintiff in this case, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), sued Texas on behalf of six foreign nationals as well as a landscaping company that relies heavily on the H-2B visa for workers.
See here for more. The court had issued an injunction against DPS in 2009. During the special session this June, a provision in SB1 codified the DPS rule, so it’s not clear to me that this ruling will have any effect. But there you have it anyway.