Immigration – RI Future

Immigrants and allies march for licenses this weekend

Claire Pimentel — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:55:59 +0000

The Coalition for Safer Rhodes is organizing a march that aims to send a clear message to the General Assembly — that they must act to ensure that our roads and communities are safe by ensuring that all immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, are able to earn a driver’s license.

In order to send a loud and clear message before the next legislative session, the Coalition has organized a march that will take place on Sunday, September 25th. The March will begin at Jenks Park in Central Falls at 11am, will go past the State House, and end at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Providence. At the end of the march, there will be a cultural festival to celebrate the contributions of immigrant communities to the State of Rhode Island.

The Coalition has been advocating for the passage of legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to earn driver’s license in the State of Rhode Island. We believe the impact of this legislation will improve the quality of life and overall safety of our communities, from higher rates of insured and licensed drivers, to greater cooperation between police and the immigrant communities they serve.

From a Coalition for Safer Rhodes Press Release

Fact-checking Trump’s return to nativism

Claire Pimentel — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:23:06 +0000

Donald Trump gave his long-awaited address on immigration in Phoenix, Arizona shortly after his surprise meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico on August 31. Earlier in the week, Trump had signaled a policy change on immigration, with Trump initially softening his tone on deportations – only to return to his nativist self a few days later.

With any speech from Trump, there are the usual bombastic claims that need to be addressed.

Undocumented immigrants cost the United States $113 billion a year.

Trump claimed that undocumented immigrants cost $113 billion a year. What Trump failed to mention in his address is that this number originates from an organization known as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, otherwise known as FAIR. This organization is known for using what could be considered a flawed methodology. For instance, they assume the cost of Medicare fraud, and yet knowingly admit that “only anecdotal information is available”. They also allocate more than half of their estimate to education and healthcare for children, neglecting that most are actually native-born U.S. citizens – not undocumented immigrants.

In reality, immigration drives economic growth, leading to new job creation and additional tax revenue. For every immigrant that migrates to the United States, 1.2 new jobs are created. Furthermore, Trump’s claim does not take into account the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants, totaling $11.64 billion nationally per year and over $33.4 million in Rhode Island.

Reinstating Secure Communities and 287(g) will help identify criminal aliens that we don’t know about.

Trump praised the two Department of Homeland Security programs, vowing to reinstate them as president in order to deport undocumented immigrants that have been charged with serious crimes and misdemeanors. Although Trump didn’t express his wish to deport all those living in the United States without legal status, his proposal to reinstate these two dragnet enforcement programs will lead to deportations of those who are not criminal aliens. For instance, Secure Communities has deported non-priority immigrants, who have, in many cases, committed no crime at all. In fact, 22.7% of the people deported by ICE and Secure Communities in 2013 had no criminal conviction. Only 12% were actually convicted of a serious criminal offense. And many others were caught by the Secure Communities dragnet for minor traffic offenses, such as driving without a license – according to data from the University of Syracuse.

Trump’s proposal has been tried by several states in the past – including Arizona, Georgia and Rhode Island. Earlier this year, H7408 was introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly, masqueraded as an e-verify bill – hiding the fact that the legislation contained two provisions that would re-instate Secure Communities and the 287(g) program in Rhode Island.

The current administration policies on immigration are ‘weak and foolish’.

Trump’s speech echoed many of the same points as the Obama administration, and yet, calls those policies ‘weak and foolish’ – perhaps just as political theater.

The Obama administration has implemented a similar program to Secure Communities, known as the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP). The intent of PEP is to identify undocumented immigrants who are suspected of committing serious crimes in order to make a determination as to whether to deport them. The administration has also deported more than the past 19 Presidents combined. Is Trump calling his own policies ‘weak and foolish’?

Trump also showcased victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, but neglected to mention that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are not criminals, but law-abiding workers that actually commit less crime than citizens, especially in regards to homicide.

Safer Rhodes Coalition visits Mattiello’s parish advocating for driver’s licenses

Claire Pimentel — Tue, 10 May 2016 02:44:36 +0000

Community members advocating for H7610. Photo by Chris Coughlin.

On Sunday, just days after celebrating Rhode Island’s independence, community members, students and undocumented workers part of the Coalition for Safer Rhodes went to the Mother’s Day service at Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s Immaculate Conception Parish to reiterate the support of Bishop Tobin regarding House Bill 7610. The legislation would allow undocumented workers to obtain a limited driver’s license.

“Our Holy Father reminds us that he himself is the son of a immigrant family, and he has urged American’s to welcome immigrants into our midst.” –Bishop Tobin

Undocumented labor, faith and the student community called on parishioners of the parish and Speaker Mattiello to recognize the need for limited licenses for the undocumented community, and the need for the General Assembly to pass H7610. Flowers were delivered to all parishioners who are mothers as a sign of solidarity among every Rhode Island family, and as a wish that every family live in security and freedom.

From an RI Jobs with Justice press release

Student activists urge House Finance Committee to pass tuition equity

Claire Pimentel — Mon, 02 May 2016 20:09:33 +0000

Rep. Grace Diaz’s Tuition Equity bill was heard in the House Finance Committee meeting Thursday evening, with several student activists giving powerful testimony in support of the legislation. House Bill 7374 would codify existing policy that grants in-state tuition rates at Rhode Island’s public colleges and universities to undocumented students who have graduated from the state’s public high schools.

Rep. Grace Diaz testifying on her own bill, H7374

Rep. Diaz has introduced this legislation for over 11 years, and now, 20 other states have adopted similar policies, although only 16 have codified such in law. Diaz noted that she “was surprised to see many states that also provided tuition assistance to some students”, which her bill nor Rhode Island policy currently provides. She concluded by stating: “Regardless of immigration [policy], I believe every student needs to have access to higher education”

Even though Diaz’s bill is currently a policy that Rhode Island’s public institutions follow, she wishes to codify it as she is “afraid at some point we might have a governor who will get rid of the [existing] policy”

Rhode Island Kids Count also came out in support of the bill, stating that it is time to codify this legislation in law, as we have had a chance to see how it has been implemented.

Rodrigo Pimentel, Secretary of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats

Rodrigo Pimentel, representing Jobs with Justice, railed against the oft-used reasoning of immigration opponents: “the law is the law”. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“When we look back upon history, we see different groups that were marginalized and scapegoated for our nation’s problems. The oppressors will appeal to the law, often stating that “the law is the law” — they will hold the law as sacrosanct, as many have unfortunately done throughout our past.”

Pimentel said that “during slavery, run-away slaves would break the law by attempting to illegally cross the Mason-Dixon line, and the Quakers and abolitionists also knowingly violated the law by helping them. And it was the white slave owners that made it against the law to help runaway slaves.”

They also alluded to Donald Trump’s demagoguery, stating: “Today, we have a demagogue who comes along and says, “I know what the causes of your problems are”, it’s the immigrants, it’s the muslims, but it wasn’t so long ago when it was the uppity women who were trying to take jobs away from men, or blacks who were trying to take jobs away from whites. That’s what demagoguery is about. It is to dehumanize, disenfranchise, and discriminate, all to obfuscate the real problems facing our society.

Pimentel concluded their testimony by urging the Committee to “[reject] political expediency and [be] on the right side of history. By doing such, the committee will show that human dignity is sacrosanct, not blind appeals to the law.”

William Perry, member of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement.

Predictably, and embarrassingly, Terry Gorman and William Perry, of RIILE, resorted to appealing to what Pimentel had just spent their entire testimony dismantling: “the law is the law”. Perry stated how the current policy would is “aiding and abiding illegal immigration”, arguing that it is a violation of federal immigration law.

Addiqa Saleem, a student at the Community College of Rhode Island, supported the legislation. Even though she is not undocumented, she testified about her own experience on trying to qualify for in-state tuition as a legal immigrant in the State of Rhode Island.

Sabine Adrian, a Providence Student Union organizer, also came out in support of the legislation, reading written testimony of an undocumented student who could not have been present at the hearing.

Yaruska Ordinola, a senior at the University of Rhode Island

Yaruska Ordinola, a senior at the University of Rhode Island testified in support. She eloquently stated that “by supporting this bill, you’re giving students like me the voice to pursue their education, students like me who call Rhode Island their home. We’re asking for a possibility, to pursue an education, and make our futures a reality”

For the full testimony, including other student activists and community members who testified on the legislation, see the video below:

Driver’s license debate is driven by nativism

Bob Plain — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 12:57:37 +0000

The nativists are restless as Rhode Island considers issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. The NBC 10 Wingmen discuss.

Correction on my part: Jon Brien isn’t a nativist for calling undocumented immigrants “illegals” – he’s committing a nativist act.

Beyond the Lucky Charms version of Irish history

transportprovidence — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 10:25:24 +0000

In a recent press conference opposing the acceptance of Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS terror, the Rhode Island GOP drew a contrast between the past acceptance of Irish refugees of the Potato Famine and the current, ongoing refugee crisis in Syria. Arguing that Syrians fleeing ISIS were different, Rep. Mike Chippendale said, “‘the United States of America is an extremely compassionate nation’ but added this is a different time than when the Irish came to the country because of a potato famine” according to a Projo report on the press conference.

As the great-great-grandson of an Irish-American terrorist, I feel the need to correct the historical record.

William Crossin, my mother’s mother’s mother’s father, died in summer of 1912. His funeral procession was a well-attended public spectacle, as reported in the July 6, 1912 edition of The Gaelic American (here I pull from The Gaelic American as quoted in a 1982 undergrad paper by Denise M. Hennessey, my mother):

It was “one of the most remarkable tributes of respect for the dead ever seen in Philadelphia. No popular public man was ever more honored in the number and quality of those who accompanied his remains to their last resting place. And they were all men and women who knew him personally.”*

He was burried [sic] from the Church of the Annunciation, located at Tenth and Dickinson Streets, Philadelphia which church “was filled to capacity.”

“A dense mass of people thronged Morris Street and the neighboring blocks, and it required a detachment of police to keep the space in front of the house clear”

Six pallbearers carried Crossin’s coffin:

John DeVoy

John T. Keating

John L. Gannon

Francis Reilly

Edward McDermott

Joseph McGarrity**

A procession of honorary pallbearers included the dignitaries from all over the United States. Fifteen nuns were also among those in the procession and it was noted that, “Crossin had always been a great friend of the sisters and made many a collection for charitable enterprises in which they were engaged.”

“A long line of carriages followed the hearse to the church, all the side streets on both sides of the route had a double line of waiting carriages and more than 2,000 members of the Clan-na-Gael wearing badges marched on foot.

A high mass of Requiem was celebrated at his parish church and a host of priests assisted his Pastor, Rev. P. Daily. In his sermon Fr. Daily attested to Crossin’s good character when he said, “No man can point the finger of scorn at William Crossin. He was a good Catholic, a practical Catholic in the strictest sense of the word. His performance of his religious duties was not perfunctory. His faith was strong and his fervor was like that of the Irish missionaries who carried the light of the Gospel to the peoples of central and western Europe in the Middle Ages when Ireland earned the proud title of the Island of the Saints. He was filled with the spirit which animated those men. His life was simple and pure. He was a model husband and father, a good citizen who won the respect of his neighbors and of all who came in contact with him. He was loyal to the land of his adoption, and to his motherland he gave a devotion that was without the slightest taint of selfishness Men might differ with him but all respected his sincerity and singleness of purpose.”

“The procession of carriages going to the grave sight stretched as far as the eye could see.”

“Outside and on the way to the cemetary [sic] great satisfaction was expressed at this kindly and eloquent tribute to the dead. One of the professional men at the funeral, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, said that he had never met a man of finer intellect, of more upright character or stronger personality than William Crossin. Had Crossin had the advantage of a college training, the man believed Crossin would have become one of the foremost men of America.” [William Crossin was a horse-cart driver in South Philadelphia]

The Clan-na-Gael was a forerunner of the I.R.A., which collected money and weapons for the latter group as it formed. William Crossin, one of the Clan-na-Gael’s leaders, presided over the country’s largest chapter in Philadelphia. He was an intellectual and personal mentor to the leaders of the Easter Rising, which took place four years after his death. He also personally took part in actions such as the dynamiting of a British cargo ship leaving New Orleans for British South Africa. In his old age, William Crossin successfully fought extradition to Great Britain to face trial for his actions.

My mother had mixed feelings about her great-grandfather, as do I (my grandmother did not, according to family legend. When my mom came home to tell her parents what she had researched at night school, my grandfather gleefully exclaimed, “Good, Denise! Dig for the dirt! I want to know everything her [my grandmother’s] side of the family did!” My grandmother replied–I imagine between sips of milky black tea and puffs of a Camel cigarette–that, “If any relative of mine blew something up, they must have had a goddamned good reason”).

History does not repeat, but rhymes. There are contrasts and similarities between the Irish experience and the Syrian one. The Irish focused their violence on the British, not Americans, and Britain was not at that time considered a solid ally of the United States***. Irish resistance was violent, and incidentally must have harmed civilians, but was not the sort of nihilistic terrorist violence that characterizes ISIS (though it later would become exactly that type of violence). In both cases, the vast majority of people were non-combatants with nothing to do with terror.

Of course, the biggest immediate contrast is that Irish-Americans deeply sympathized with Irish republicanism in all its forms, and the leaders of the community, though perhaps not in full harmony with the Clan-na-Gael and I.R.A., certainly considered the group within the fold of reasonable disagreement. Syrians, by contrast, are overwhelmingly fleeing from ISIS. The Arabic slur, Daesh, meaning something akin to ‘the dividers’ gives clues to how the broader Syrian public feels about ISIS. There’s no doubt that we should be careful to screen out ISIS terrorists who might opportunistically try to hide amidst the hoards of their own victims, but that does not justify punishing the vast majority who are fleeing ISIS.

There is also a longer arc of history to be considered.

The date of my great-great-grandfather’s death in 1912, makes for a convenient endpoint from the perspective of my family, because we as his relatives need not fully grapple with the complexities of political violence. Helping to form the early seed of the I.R.A. but not carrying out its full history is something akin to being at the storming of the Bastille, but not sticking around for la Terreur****. The Easter Rising in 1916 bore William Crossin’s political mark but not his actual hand. The Rising, in which an armed brigade of I.R.A. militia took the Dublin Post Office and a smattering of other British buildings, marked the beginning of a protracted struggle for Irish independence. During the Rising many people died, including forty children, but by the standards of later I.R.A. violence, the Rising was a targeted and humane affair. Over the next century, the I.R.A. would become ever more nihilistic in its targeting of civilians. The initial choice by people like my great-great-grandfather to even consider the use of violence came from the sense that no other option was available, and as the U.K. used repressive torture and mass-detainment measures against the Irish Catholic population, the movement became correspondingly more desperate and terroristic.

Likewise, the Arab world once flourished with democratic ideals and religious tolerance. The struggles that Middle-Easterners fought ranged from the nonviolent to the limitedly violent, and the outright terroristic. But it was repression that gave terrorism the upper hand. Our leaders chose to overthrow Iranian democracy in 1953 to secure oil, and throw that country into the arms of theocracy. Our leaders chose to put chemical weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein and the Iranian theocracy alike (supposedly our enemy). Our leaders chose to arm the Taliban. Our leaders chose to use torture and trial-free detainment policies similar to those of Northern Ireland at Guantanamo Bay. British repression pushed republicanism to the point that its most extreme practitioners became more like a pro-Catholic mafia fighting for an Ireland for Catholics Only. American repression has helped spawn a vicious movement for an exclusionary, theocratic “Caliphate”.

British repression did not justify the I.R.A. Our leaders’ choices do not justify Daesh/ISIS. Irish and Syrian terrorism has historical roots, but is carried out by individuals with agency and responsibility. We must defeat Daesh. But above all, Irish-American history should give us a guide for why terrorism happens, and how to stop it. You stop terrorism by isolating and fighting the extremists. You acknowledge and address the legitimate claims of the general public, which can either serve as your ally our the terrorists’.

We should remember what Irish-American history was, in all its hues. The Lucky Charms version of Irish history results from the fact that the goal of a free Ireland is no longer considered extreme, and from the fact that none of us in America recall the violence and destruction that went into its creation. It poses a view that we are the rational people, and the foreigners are dangerous and other. We should not pretend that there are not real dangers. But by recognizing the full scope of our history, we should be able to make rational choices about those dangers. I owe it to myself as an Irish-American, my ancestors, and the world to bring this story to light.

~~~~

*It’s unclear to me at times who is being quoted in The Gaelic American. The author may have been quoting someone mentioned earlier in the obituary, or it may be a typo from my mother’s paper.

**Joseph McGarrity was one of the heavyweights of Irish republicanism, and his papers are kept at Villanova University, where at night school, much of my mom’s research was done. According to my mother’s paper, 1960s bombings by the I.R.A. were often accompanied by letters signed with the pseudonym “Joseph McGarrity” the way one might sign a letter “Thomas Jefferson”. McGarrity was one of my great-great-grandfather’s closest friends, and another of the Clan-na-Gael’s chapter presidents.

*** (which does not really make any moral difference, but is certainly a relevant political one)

****(which, ironically, is the origin of the term “terrorism”)

Dorcas International explains Rhode Island refugee process

Bob Plain — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:43:03 +0000

Don’t expect Syrian refugees in Rhode Island any time soon, according to Kathy Cloutier, the executive director of Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. “It won’t happen quickly,” she said. “The system is not designed to be responsive.” Each refugee, she said, needs to be vetted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, as well as the federal departments of State, Homeland Security and Immigration.

But if and when the United States is ready to accept some of the 4 million Syrian who have fled civil war in their country, Cloutier, whose organization works closely with most refugees who end up in Rhode Island, said the Ocean State could host approximately 100 of them.

Dorcas, along with the Catholic church, are the two Rhode Island non-government organizations tasked with integrating refugees into the local community. “Between the Diocese and us last year we resettled around 200 refugees in Rhode Island,” Cloutier said. “I would say we could take on another 100 or so.”

There’s a federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and a state-level Refugee Health Program that are also involved in the process.

Rhode Island “is a very welcoming state,” said Cloutier, but housing and the economy will determine how many refugees the Ocean State can handle. “If there was more affordable housing and jobs we could take an unlimited number,” Cloutier said.

Dorcas helps refugees find a job, job training if needed and a place to live, as well “some cultural orientation” and “aligning the Syrian community,” Cloutier said. “We would help advocate for them by aligning the Syrian community.” There are approximately “a couple thousand Syrians living in Rhode Island,” she said.

Refugees are given a one time federal payment of between $900 and $1150 and are eligible for state and federal assistance programs like health care and food stamps, according to Cloutier. Other than that, they “depend on a lot of donations,” she said.

They are expected to be self-sufficient within a year. “Most are placed in entry-level jobs, where in their home country they may have been a professional.”

Diossa to Obama: Central Falls will take in Syrian refugees

Bob Plain — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:53:41 +0000

Central Falls Mayor James Diossa co-signed a letter with 18 mayors from around the United States telling President Obama their cities are willing to take in Syrian refugees.

“We will welcome the Syrian families to make homes and new lives in our cities,” reads the letter, a copy of which was sent to RI Future from Diossa.

“Indeed, we are writing to say that we stand ready to work with your Administration to do much more and to urge you to increase still further the number of Syrian refugees the United States will accept for resettlement,” it reads. “The surge of humanity fleeing war and famine is the largest refugee crisis since World War II. The United States is in a position to lead a global narrative of inclusion and support. This is a challenge we can meet, and the undersigned mayors stand ready to help you meet it.”

There are at least 4 million Syrian refugees fleeing civil war and the oppressive ruling regime, and many million more fleeing similar strife in other Middle Eastern and African nations. The exodus has been called the greatest refuge crisis since World War II and the sheer volume of refugees has overwhelmed Europe. The United States, which has accepted only 1,500 Syrian refugees in four years of civil war, has been criticized for not doing more.

Diossa joins the mayors of Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hartford, Conn., Santa Fe, NM, Syracuse, NY, Clarkston Georgia, Paterson, NJ and others in signing the letter. No other Rhode Island mayors signed the letter.

Central Falls has several connections to Syria already. In the early part of the 20th century, many of the Syrian refugees fleeing the Turks settled in Central Falls, according to this official history of migration into Rhode Island. There’s even a Catholic church in Central Falls that was founded by Syrian immigrants in 1907, according to this article in the Rhode Island Catholic. And former CF Mayor Tom Lazieh is of Syrian decent, according to this 2013 Providence Journal article.

Tara Granahan, of WPRO, tweeted about the letter earlier today.

This is the letter in its entirety, as well as the signers:

Dear President Obama:

We commend your decision to open America’s doors to at least 10,000 Syrian refugees displaced by civil war, and applaud your commitment to increase the overall number of refugees the U.S. will resettle over the course of the next two years. This announcement is a vital initial step to honoring America’s commitment to support those fleeing oppression.

As the mayors of cities across the country, we see first-hand the myriad ways in which immigrants and refugees make our communities stronger economically, socially and culturally. We will welcome the Syrian families to make homes and new lives in our cities. Indeed, we are writing to say that we stand ready to work with your Administration to do much more and to urge you to increase still further the number of Syrian refugees the United States will accept for resettlement. The surge of humanity fleeing war and famine is the largest refugee crisis since World War II. The United States is in a position to lead a global narrative of inclusion and support. This is a challenge we can meet, and the undersigned mayors stand ready to help you meet it.

Our cities have been transformed by the skills and the spirit of those who come to us from around the world. The drive and enterprise of immigrants and refugees have helped build our economies, enliven our arts and culture, and enrich our neighborhoods.

We have taken in refugees, and will help make room for thousands more. This is because the United States has developed a robust screening and background check that assures us that we know who we are welcoming into this country. With national security systems in place, we stand ready to support the Administration in increasing the numbers of refugees we can accept.

With Pope Francis’ visit, we are mindful of his call for greater compassion in the face of this ongoing crisis and stand with you in supporting those “journeying towards the hope of life.”

Sincerely,

Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, PA

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore, MD

Martin J. Walsh, Mayor of Boston, MA

James Diossa, Mayor of Central Falls, RI

Mark Kleinschmidt, Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC

Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, IL

Edward Terry, Mayor of Clarkston, GA

Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton, OH

Domenick Stampone, Mayor of Haledon, NJ

Pedro E. Segarra, Mayor of Hartford, CT

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, CA

Betsy Hodges, Mayor of Minneapolis, MN

Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, NY

Jose Torres, Mayor of Paterson, NJ

William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

Javier Gonzales, Mayor of Santa Fe, NM

Francis G. Slay, Mayor of St. Louis, MO

Stephanie A. Miner, Mayor of Syracuse, NY

Final push to get driver’s licenses for all, regardless of immigration status

Steve Ahlquist — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 20:41:09 +0000

Comité en Acción is leading the charge on getting driver’s licenses for undocumented workers in Rhode Island. Senate bill 391, which “would allow the department of motor vehicles to issue driving privilege licenses and driving privilege permits to applicants unable to establish lawful presence in the United States” has been held for further study, which is General Assembly language for “going nowhere.”

But the fight isn’t over yet.

I spoke to Sabine Adrian and Catarina Lorenzo, two leaders with Comité en Acción who are leading volunteers in a phone banking effort targeting Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed, who has the power to bring the legislation to the floor for a vote in the Senate.

According to Sophia Wright, “States like Chicago, California, New Jersey and Connecticut, to name a few, have already taken the step towards greater equality by passing similar laws that provide licenses for all, regardless of immigration status.”

During the May 21 public testimony on the bill, said Adrian, those in favor of allowing licenses for all were in the majority. Arguments against the bill almost exclusively focused on what opponents refer to as illegal immigration, but these issues are not really related. Allowing licenses prevents workers from operating a motor vehicle without the required training and testing. iT becomes a safety issue, and a quality of life issue for workers and their families. The licenses allowed under this bill would not usable for the purpose of legal identification.

The Comité en Acción is not the only organization in the fight. They are part of a coalition, Todos Somos Arizona, that includes the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, English for Action, RI Jobs with Justice, RI Jobs with Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, Fuerza Laboral and others.

Those in favor of this legislation can sign this petition at MoveOn.

You could also call Senate President Paiva-Weed and let her know that you support this important bill.

Committee considers driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants

Elisha Aldrich — Thu, 28 May 2015 09:17:33 +0000

Representative Anastasia Williams testifying for H6174

“We are not just nomads looking for benefits.”

That’s what Jose Chacon, an undocumented immigrant living in Rhode Island, said to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, in support of H6174, which proposes giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

“It’s just a human thing to do,” he said.

In its current state, the bill allows undocumented immigrants a valid Rhode Island driver’s license if they can provide documents that reliably establish their name, date of birth, place of birth, and Rhode Island residency, among other pieces of information. Those who are under 18 are still required to undergo driving education.

Representative Anastasia Williams (D-District 9), the primary sponsor of the bill, in her testimony, said the bill has been a long time coming.

“I do believe we are going to come to a crossroad where we address the issues before us,” she said. One of those issues, according to Williams, is safety. If illegal immigrants are granted driver’s licenses, then they will have further access to auto registration and insurance, should they get into a car accident.

“It’s about responsibility, accountability, and a duty,” Williams said, citing that it is state legislature’s duty to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible on the road. “It is time for us to do our due diligence to make sure that these individuals on the road have the proper documentation,” she said.

When asked who would pay for these licenses, Williams responded that the process would operate much like the processes for giving a license to a US citizen.

“Time and resources is something that this General Assembly puts forth for many other things,” she said. “We are not giving out free licenses. These individuals will have to pay for them just like you and I.”

Even with supporters like Chacon, many of which attended the hearing, H6174 still has its fair share of opposition. Terry Gorman, the president of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, came to testify against the legislation. Gorman found many parts of the bill to be unclear, and even called H6174 an “illegal aliens benefit act.”

“Passing this bill would in effect hold all of you in violation of 8 USC 1324, which prohibits aiding and abetting illegal aliens,” he said. “People said they’re doing it anyway, they’re going to continue doing it. There are child molesters, wife beaters, and bank robbers, doing crimes. Should we just ‘Oh they’re doing it anyway, they’re going to continue doing it?’”

Gorman’s main objection to the bill was that many of the documents that undocumented immigrants would be asked to provide are not valid forms of government identification.

“That needs some sort of clarification as to who is going to verify that information, and what the cost will be to verify it,” he said.

Steven Brown from the RI chapter of the ACLU testifying in support of H6174

Currently, H6174 is subject to amendment, but one that has caused some controversy is whether or not undocumented immigrants applying for a driver’s license would be required to submit to a national criminal background check. A major concern is whether or not such information would make its way to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“If you do have a national criminal record check, innocent people will be fearful, and understandably so,” said Steven Brown of the Rhode Island ACLU. Brown mentioned that the state Senate version of this bill has an explicit confidentiality provision that prevents the sharing of illegal immigrant’s information without issuing a subpoena.

“I don’t believe that particular provision is in this bill, and we would encourage that it be added,” he said. “We would encourage the committee, in considering this bill, to reject that option, because of its consequences.”