Wisconsin Assembly approves bill allowing DACA recipients to get professional licenses

A bipartisan bill to allow people who are not citizens but are qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to receive professional licenses has passed the Wisconsin Assembly.

Lawmakers on Friday passed Assembly Bill 759, which, if signed by the governor, would allow DACA recipients, or Dreamers, living in the state to obtain licenses for professions such as plumbing, nursing and teaching.

Different construction associations, such as Associated Builders and Contractors and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have supported the bill, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

In 2012, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the DACA program for those who arrived in the U.S. as children and qualify to request for deferred action for two years, subject to renewal, according to DHS. The policy was reaffirmed by DHS in 2022.

Federal law prohibits most noncitizens from receiving state or local public benefits but allows states to grant eligibility for certain public benefits, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. Professional and commercial licenses provided by a state or local government are counted as public benefits.

If an individual is granted deferred action under DACA, the deferred action is not expired, and if the person is authorized to work, they will be able to obtain credentials for certain occupations under the bill, according to LRB.

During a floor session in the capitol, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers endorsed the bill.

State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, said it was a smart policy and would benefit the state workforce.

Democratic lawmakers who spoke included state Reps. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, D-Green Bay and Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee.

State Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, said DACA recipients must register for the military draft, pay $605 each year to renew paperwork, pay federal and state taxes and undergo extensive background checks to stay in the country.

“These people are Americans,” Kitchens said during the floor session. “They spent their life here and they don’t know any other country.”

As of October 2025, there were 515,570 DACA recipients living in the U.S., data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services showed. In June 2025, 5,270 lived in Wisconsin.

Assembly Bill 759 heads to the state Senate next.