The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can refuse to accept an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or work permit, as proof of lawful status in the country, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has ruled.
The advisory opinion comes in response to an inquiry from Richard Holcomb, Commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV can accept — or refuse to accept — the work permit as the sole as documentary evidence of lawful status in the country, Cuccinelli ruled.
In September, Gov. Bob McDonnell told the state DMV to stop accepting the card as proof of legal status. Carlos Martinelly Montano, an alleged drunk driver who killed a nun this summer, used the document to prove his legal status while applying for a Virginia ID card, according to police.
The department cannot take action with respect to someone who had been issued a driver’s license or ID who is in the process of being deported, other than requiring that the person proves they’re in the country legally when the card is renewed or reissued — provided that the federal government notifies the department that the person isn’t in the country legally, Cuccinelli also ruled. The Department of Homeland Security began deportation proceedings against Montano following another drunk driving arrest in 2008.
Cuccinelli also ruled that the law in question is designed to prove someone is in the country legally when they apply for a driver’s license, permit or ID card, and the department does not have authority to cancel such cards even if a person is deported.
