Going to the DMV to receive or renew your drivers’ license is always a hassle. However, those who are racial minorities or transgender face the added trouble of prejudice. Many times, the ACLU has stepped in to defend those in Nebraska and other states who have been put in such a position.
In 2001, we complained to the DMV of Grand Island when a Latina mother took her son to get his first drivers’ license and the examiner questioned the validity of his out-of-state birth certificate. The employee even showed them a news article about “illegal aliens” being involved in drug trafficking. After our intervention, the DMV investigated the report and fired the employee.
In May of 2007, Edward Zepeda, a Latino man living in Lincoln, went to renew his Nebraska ID card. At the DMV, employees asked him embarrassing questions and suggested he was either “illegal” or “attempting to engage in fraud.” The ACLU intervened and the director of the DMV apologized to Zepeda.
In 2009, we worked with the DMV to update forms that asked invasive questions about surgery for transgender people wanting to change gender markers. The process still requires a licensed physician sign off, however, which keeps Nebraska from following current best practices.
Then, in 2010, the Fremont DMV confiscated documents brought in by a naturalized citizen who was Latina and was renewing her license. They implied that her documents were fraudulent and would require several weeks to verify information, during which time she could not drive. ACLU intervention got same-day return of documents and renewal of her license.
Every Nebraskan should be allowed to get their drivers’ license or ID card without being harassed about their ethnicity, their gender identity or immigration status. The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to all people. To ensure this, we work fiercely to fight discriminatory policies in Nebraska and guarantee everyone is treated like a neighbor.
2016 is the 50th anniversary of the ACLU of Nebraska. We will feature several memories from our five decades of defending freedom in the Cornhusker state here. Do you have a favorite memory? Share it with us!
