Why Driver’s Licenses for All?
It just makes sense. Providing licenses to undocumented folks results in safer roads and increased revenue to the state. It’s a win-win! Above all, expanding license access to immigrants would enable them to more easily seek healthcare, transport their children to/from school, get to/from work, and so much more. I was given a wonderful packet with loads of informative packets that I’ve scanned, so feel free to browse the following information:
- Benefits of Expanding License Access by The Commonwealth Institute (PDF Link)
This packet (in both Spanish and English) contains some useful infographics that break down the statistics as to why expanding license access would make our roads safer. - Driver’s Licenses for All Fair Testimonials by Unknown (PDF Link)
Read three testimonials in both English and Spanish about how people are affected by licenses not being available to undocumented immigrants. - ¡Vote sí! by Unknown (PDF Link)
Spanish translation of the informational essay given to representatives.
In addition, this looks to be our best year yet for passing such legislation. According to the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures):
In 2019, legislators in several states introduced legislation to provide driver’s licenses to undocumented residents including Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. The Oregon House passed legislation in June 2019 which would provide licenses to undocumented residents.
New York recently made headlines as a result of such legislation being passed, hiring 300+ DMV employees due to demand, with DMV lines spanning multiple blocks. The very same day New York passed its legislation, New Jersey passed a version of its own.
Lobby Day Itinerary
On Thursday, we first met at Sacred Heart Center (where I used to teach ESL classes and my lovely colleague Elaine works) for a light breakfast and a debriefing before heading to the capital. 3-4 large buses descended upon the center, with residents from Charlottesville, Winchester, Prince William, Fairfax, and more. Everything was geared towards Spanish-speakers, and all written information was provided in English and Spanish. The fact is, the majority of folks who would be affected by such legislation are Spanish-speaking immigrants. The organization CASA had a large presence, which I could tell from all the red CASA beanies everyone was wearing!
We then split up into teams based upon where in Virginia we lived. There were two groups for the greater Richmond area, each of which began with about 8-10 members. I was the designated interpreter for group 5, and all of our members were monolingual Spanish-speakers, save for myself and a representative of The Commonwealth Institute, who served as our group leader due to their extensive lobbying experience. By the time we took the buses and ended up on the capitol steps, our group grew to almost 20. We had a short rally during which democratic Delegate Kathy Tran and members of the community spoke. From there, we moved on to the representatives’ offices (pictured to the right of the main white building in this post’s first image).
Our first stop was supposed to be the office of democratic delegate Betsy Carr (with whom we had an appointment scheduled), but we ended up catching democratic delegate Karrie Delaney and a few of our group members who were proficient in English had a chat with her about the importance of passing this legislation. Once delegate Carr was available, the Spanish-speaking members of our group began to share their stories with her, and I interpreted. Delegates Delaney and Carr both expressed that they were already in favor of such legislation and would co-patron any future measures. Delegate Carr was very kind and attentive and even posed for a photo that one of her aides took.
Next was the most high-profile of our visits: democratic senator Ghazala Hashmi, who is the first Muslim woman elected to the Virginia senate. While we did not have an appointment scheduled with senator Hashmi, a few of our group members were able to share their stories with her as I interpreted. I’m quite pleased I was able to interpret for a state senator!
Our visits went quite well, however our last stop (democrat Joe Morrissey) was not in the building and all of his aides were supposedly busy, so we decided to join up with the other Richmond-area group that was speaking to republican representatives. While senator John Cosgrove was unavailable, we had the lengthiest of our chats with his chief of staff, Diana Seaman. Our group had grown to about 40 people, and about 10 of them wanted to share their stories, so I interpreted for them as well. Some of our group members wanted to share their stories in English (including a woman who was a victim of a hit-and-run involving an undocumented immigrant), but with the amount of noise I had to interpret as a summary to the whole group.
My Two Cents: Comments to Representatives
At the end of each of my interpretations, with delegate Betsy Carr, senator Ghazala Hashmi, and senator John Cosgrove’s chief of staff, they each shook my hand thanking me for interpreting, and I always took the opportunity to share a little bit about why I was there:
I’m a Spanish medical interpreter in the Richmond area and I am here for hundreds of my patients who were unable to make it today. I just want to let you know that driver’s licenses aren’t just a driving issue, but also a huge barrier to healthcare. I can’t tell you how many times my patients miss out on care or avoid care because of lack of transportation.
I had a wonderful time with everyone, and it was a rare occasion for me to interact casually with Spanish-speakers in Spanish. We got lost in the stairwell which only had rooftop access because of confusing signage, and I once accidentally said “left” instead of “right” when interpreting directions to the entire group on 9th Street! It was my first time using the words copatrocinador and copatrocinar which I absolutely slaughtered when it came to pronunciation the first few times, which became an inside joke to the entire group.
Future Action
Unfortunately I will be unavailable for the event widely promoted on Thursday on January 20th by New Virginia Majority. I am posting the information here in hopes that it may interest some of my followers.
I will, however, be going to another lobby day sponsored by Equality Virginia on February 18th for families and LGBT youth. I interpret for many mental health appointments for LGBT youth, so this is an issue near and dear to my heart. We will be advocating for equal protection under the law for LGBTQ+ individuals in the state of Virginia, since unfortunately LGBTQ+ status is not a “protected class” according to the United States federal government.
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