Asylum seekers in 30+ states cannot get a driver's license without an EAD

In the majority of U.S. states, asylum seekers cannot obtain a driver's license unless they hold a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD). But EAD processing itself can take 6-12 months or longer, and recent policy changes have frozen new EAD applications entirely when USCIS cannot meet processing time targets. So what? Without a driver's license, asylum seekers in car-dependent cities and suburbs (which describes most of the U.S. outside a handful of metro areas with public transit) cannot legally drive to work, medical appointments, children's schools, or grocery stores. So what? They either do not work (and drain savings or rely on charity), or they drive without a license and risk arrest, criminal charges, and a mark on their immigration record that can be used against them in removal proceedings. So what? A single traffic stop for an unlicensed asylum seeker can escalate into detention and deportation proceedings, effectively ending their asylum case over a regulatory Catch-22 that the person had no power to resolve. So what? This creates a chilling effect where asylum seekers self-restrict their mobility, turning down jobs that require commuting and avoiding medical care, which compounds isolation, poverty, and health deterioration. The structural reason this persists is that driver's license policy is set at the state level with no federal floor, and states that restrict licenses view it as an immigration enforcement tool rather than a public safety measure.