Judge orders Indiana to strike Ukrainian provision from humanitarian parole driver’s license law

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has ordered Indiana to strike down a provision in state law that allows people on humanitarian parole to obtain driver’s licenses, but only if they are from Ukraine.

A judge on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction to a group of Haitian immigrants in Indiana who sued the state over the recently passed law. The Haitian immigrants say the law is discriminatory and unconstitutional and are seeking to permanently ban the provision.

It was unclear Friday whether the state will appeal the judge’s order.

The lawsuit was filed in August against the commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and the National Immigration Law Center.

“I intend to continue to advocate for justice together with the other plaintiffs, because obtaining a driver’s license should depend on following the rules of the road, and not on the country where you were born,” said chief prosecutor Jeffson Saint-Hilaire in a written statement. provided by the ACLU of Indiana.

The law in question, Indiana House Enrolled Act 1050, allows immigrants on humanitarian parole from Ukraine to obtain driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Four out of five Haitian immigrants — all of whom are on parole — live in rural areas without public transportation, according to the lawsuit, trying to get the same opportunities the law offers them. They rely on others for rides to work and other daily activities such as grocery shopping, advocates say. The ultimate claimant is a minor who wishes to receive an identity card.

Lawyers for the Haitian immigrants have argued that the law violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. It also creates its own immigration classifications, an authority reserved for the federal government, they argue.

In a statement, the Indiana attorney general’s office, which represents the commissioner, said it is reviewing the decision and the possibility of an appeal.

“The Indiana General Assembly had good intentions and we made the best arguments for the constitutionality of the law,” the statement said.

During a court hearing in November, attorneys for the state argued that the law was passed to reflect provisions in Congress’ Ukrainian Supplemental Appropriations Act, and therefore does not conflict with federal law or federal immigration classifications.

In her 45-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said the law distinguishes between groups of humanitarian parolees and that the provision is likely to conflict with the Equal Protection Clause.

“If Indiana statute allowed all humanitarian parolees to obtain licenses, identification cards, or titles, plaintiffs would not have to file this lawsuit,” she wrote.

Pratt ordered Indiana to strike the Ukrainian provision language in its preliminary injunction and leave the remainder of the law in effect.

The lawsuit also seeks class action certification, which is still pending.

“We will continue to pursue this case to ensure that Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians have an equal opportunity to support their families and communities,” Gavin M. Rose, senior attorney at the ACLU of Indiana, said in the statement.