More than a License to Drive: State Restrictions on the Use of Driver's Licenses by Noncitizens

Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Vol. 29, Fall 2004-2005

38 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2008 Last revised: 5 May 2016

See all articles by María Mercedes Pabón

María Mercedes Pabón

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

Date Written: August 6, 2008

Abstract

This article surveyed the state driver's licenses laws of the 50 states with regard to granting them to noncitizens of the United States. After an examination of the states' regulations that restrict noncitizens from obtaining driving licenses, I propose a typology of the predominant statutory regimes that the research disclosed. Following the typological analysis, the article analyzes the constitutionality of the various schemes and addresses the moral arguments regarding this legislation. Using political theory principles and the philosophical theory regarding discipline and punishment of Michel Foucault, I argue that the states driver's license regulatory schemes are a form of social control of immigrants, and conclude that the debate over licensing for noncitizens responds to these larger societal concerns and conflicts in the status of noncitizens in the United States.

Keywords: driver's licenses, state driver's license law, noncitizens, Immigration Law, immigrants, Michel Foucault, societal concerns

JEL Classification: K19, K39

Suggested Citation

Pabón, María Mercedes, More than a License to Drive: State Restrictions on the Use of Driver's Licenses by Noncitizens (August 6, 2008). Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Vol. 29, Fall 2004-2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1208878

María Mercedes Pabón (Contact Author)

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law ( email )

7214 St Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
968
Abstract Views
3,523
Rank
43,775
PlumX Metrics