Missouri won’t permit DACA recipients nursing licensure. Here’s what’s being done about it

Alondra Orozco, a DACA recipient, has dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was introduced to the profession in high school. After she completed her studies at St. Charles Community College and passed the National Council Licensure Examination, she was blindsided by the fact that Missouri will not issue her a registered nurse license because of her citizenship status. Orozco and SLU Law professor Kelly Gillespie discuss the hurdles non-U.S. citizens face in obtaining professional licensure and how other states, including Illinois and Kansas, have made it possible for non-citizens to become registered nurses.