The Ohio BMV has been sued for discriminating against children of undocumented immigrants by not allowing their parents to cosign on their driver's license or state ID card applications -- even if their children are U.S. citizens.

Esther Aulis-Cabrera was denied the opportunity to get her temporary driver's license at 15. She didn't know she was one of thousands of Ohio teenagers facing similar circumstances.

Aulis-Cabrera is a U.S. citizen who was born in the country but was denied her license because her mother is from Mexico and doesn't have the legal status in this country to cosign for her, a state requirement for minors getting their licenses.

The little-known but longstanding Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles policy also prevents other adults from cosigning "unless he or she obtains custody or legal guardianship of the minor applicant," according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed against the agency.

Advocates estimate the policy stands to affect more than 3,000 teenage minors who are currently eligible to get a temporary permit, driver's license or state identification card in Ohio.

That includes minors who are U.S. citizens as well as others with legal status, such as those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That Obama-era program allows those brought here illegally as children to stay in the country, work and, in Ohio, to get their driver's licenses.

"We're suing the BMV for a policy which we believe is unconstitutional," said Emily Brown, an attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, a nonprofit legal firm based in Dayton. "They are essentially preventing them from getting a driver's license until they turn 18.

"The Ohio Revised Code says minors have to have a cosigner, but it says another responsible adult can do it if the parent can't cosign," she said. "The BMV could interpret the law to mean if the parent can't cosign another adult in the community can, but the BMV is not allowing other adults to do that."

The lawsuit asks the court to allow other adults to cosign a minor's application if a parent grants permission.

Brown said her firm decided to file the lawsuit after it learned about the policy and after extensive conversations about their concerns with the BMV led nowhere.

A BMV spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the agency doesn't discuss pending litigation.

The denial or delay of a driver's license or state ID hinders the ability of children of undocumented immigrants "to travel to their places of school and employment, transport other family members, provide identification for purposes of opening a bank account or obtaining employment, and otherwise participate fully in civic life," according to the 27-page complaint filed Oct. 16.

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality is representing Cincinnati-based immigrant advocacy groups at the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center and two minors, along with their mothers.

If parents can't prove they are in the country legally, Brown said, they shouldn't have to give up custody or legal guardianship just so their child can get a driver's license or ID.

Some states, such as New Mexico and California, allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses and sign for their children, said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

State Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, said minors should be able to get their licenses if they're U.S.-born. If the concern is only about liability, he said, the legal status of the parent shouldn't make a difference.

State Rep. Dan Ramos, a Lorain Democrat, said state and federal agencies shouldn't be targeting U.S. citizens.

"We seem to not be taking into account the fact that people were born here ... their parental citizenship shouldn't make any difference to their rights," Ramos said.

Aulis-Cabrera, the 15-year-old from Cincinnati who couldn't get her temporary license, is now an 18-year-old student at Ohio University. , She said she's thrilled to learn that a lawsuit has been filed to help others like her.



Being turned down for a learner's permit was a "defining moment where I realized my inequality to my peers," she said.

Having a driver's license was more than a luxury, she said, it was a "very big need."

Without it, Aulis-Cabrera said she found it hard to be involved in the theater program at her high school, get to and from her first job or buy groceries for her family.

She said her 16-year-old sister hasn't tried to get her license because of her experience.

"I think if we allow these kids to have licenses ... I think they will be more aptly available to be part of society," she said. "There are a lot of first-generation Americans who, like me, have experienced pushback. I'm ready to start experiencing and living out that American right of privilege."

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing