A US Navy veteran who has lived in America for more than seven decades says it now feels like his country “doesn’t want him” after his citizenship was challenged by authorities in Tennessee .
As the nation celebrates Independence Day on July 4, David O’Connor is locked in a battle with the state DMV, which has taken away his license after claiming he could not prove he was a US citizen.
The 77-year-old has been a professional truck operator for the last 61 years and has held driver’s licenses in New York , New Hampshire , and Vermont , according to NewsChannel5.
He also got a license eight years ago when he moved to Tennessee. According to O’Connor, last month the state canceled his license.
“They told me I shouldn’t have had the license in the first place ‘cause I couldn’t prove that I was a citizen,” O’Connor told NewsChannel5.
Both of O’Connor’s parents are US citizens but were briefly living in Canada when he was born, meaning he has a Canadian birth certificate. When O’Connor went to the Driver Service Center in McMinn County to renew his license and get a “Real ID,” the certificate was rejected.