Opinion ID: 1294450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: State Statutory Claim

Text: Iowa Code section 321.182(1)( a ) allows the DOT to waive the social security number requirement for foreign nationals [p]ursuant to procedures established by the department. The two classes claim that the social security requirement should be waived for illegal aliens because section 321.196(1) command[s] the Department of Transportation to issue drivers licenses to undocumented aliens. We think the classes take this provision out of context. Section 321.196 is the provision governing renewal of existing licenses. It presupposes that a licensee seeking renewal of a license previously qualified for and obtained a license. The statute does not allow, let alone command, the DOT to issue licenses to anyone who does not meet the requirements of section 321.182. Moreover, the Sanchez class has not followed the procedures established by the DOT to obtain a waiver of the social security number requirement. The DOT has adopted the following procedure for waiver: If you are a temporary foreign national who is not authorized for employment, the DOT may waive the Social Security Number requirement for a non-commercial driver's license or identification card. However, you must present your immigration documents so that the DOT can record the BCIS (INS) number in lieu of the Social Security Number. Iowa Dep't of Transp., Verification of Social Security Number for an Iowa Driver's License or ID Card, at http://www.iamvd.com/ods/ssn.htm (last updated Feb. 25, 2004) (emphasis added). Under the DOT's procedure, only foreign nationals who are authorized by the INS (now the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security) to be in the country are entitled to have the social security requirement waived. See id.; see also Iowa Dep't of Transp., Foreign National Iowa Driver's Licenses & IDs, at http://www.iamvd.com/ods/foreign.htm (last updated Feb. 25, 2004) (Licenses and Non-Driver Identification Cards issued to temporary foreign nationals will be limited to the period of time the foreign national is authorized to be in the United States, not to exceed two years. The examiner or county treasurer will determine the term by reviewing Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) documents. Temporary Foreign nationals should be prepared to show their INS documentation.). The district court correctly determined that the Sanchez class did not qualify for licenses under the state statutory scheme. We thus turn to consider whether this statutory scheme is constitutional.