PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Governor Tony Evers signed Assembly Bill 759, now making it Wisconsin Act 240.
The bipartisan bill removes barriers to employment for “Dreamers,” or recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in Wisconsin. DACA recipients are now able to get credentials for certain jobs if they satisfy all the necessary credentialing requirements.
The governor’s office says they will be able to join areas of Wisconsin’s workforce which are in need of workers, “including registered nurses, dentists, teachers, emergency medical technicians, and trade workers among others.”
“Here in Wisconsin—whether it’s restrictions on obtaining a driver’s license to operate a vehicle or certain work-related credentials—unnecessary barriers are holding hard-working people, as well as our workforce, economy, and communities, back,” Governor Evers said.
Immigrants play a critical role in our economy and our communities in every corner of our state—and they have for generations. In Wisconsin, we’ve always believed that if you work hard, obey the law, pay taxes, and play by the rules just like everyone else, you should have a fair shot at pursuing the American Dream, including having the opportunity to join our professional workforce. Today, we’re not only doing the right thing for Dreamers to help make sure they can pursue their higher education and career goals to give back to the communities that raised them, but we’re doing the right thing for our state and our economy, too, by making sure smart, talented, and capable people can join our workforce in high-need areas.
Under the new law workers must still have a valid, unexpired work authorization document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This means as long as a worker’s federal work authorization is renewed, their state credentials may also be renewed.
Wisconsin Act 240 comes on the heels of dozens more bills signed into law Wednesday.
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