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Immigrant Advocates Say They'll Continue Fighting After Lawmakers Cancel Hearing On Driver's License Bill

A group of masked people walking outside the State Capitol in Lansing. Some of them are holding signs that read, "We Support Drivers Licenses for the undocumented immigrants. Pass Drive Safe Bills! Cosecha Detroit Allies" and "Operation License Detroit MI Cosecha Detroit."
Courtesy
/
Araceli Crescencio
Michiganders with the immigrant advocate group, Movimiento Cosecha planned to testify in front of the House Rules and Competitiveness committee before it was cancelled.

A new bill introduced in the State legislature would reinstate undocumented immigrants' ability to get a driver's license or ID, but a hearing on the measure Tuesday was abruptly cancelled.

Since 2008, Michigan has required proof of permanent legal residency to get a license or state ID.

That means thousands of undocumented people in the state have had no way to drive without breaking the law.

A new bill introduced in the state legislature would reinstate their ability to get a license or ID, but a hearing on the measure Tuesday was abruptly cancelled.

Araceli Crescencio is a reporter with WLNS TV. She also co-hosts WKAR's podcast, ¿Qué Onda Michigan?

WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with her about her coverage at the Capitol as advocates for the bill gathered demanding to be heard.

Interview Highlights

On Why The Hearing Was Cancelled

A spokesperson for the House Speaker [Jason] Wentworth, he told me that he reached out to the chairman of the House Rules and Competitiveness committee because a lot of members reached out to him with concerns over this specific "DRIVE Safe" bills policy and the need to kind of finalize a budget by the end of this week. And so, that's why it was cancelled. So, it kind of seemed like people were upset about this policy being kind of considered.

On Why Advocates Want The Bill To Be Passed

They told me it affects almost every aspect of their lives: dropping off their children, going to work, making sure that they can get groceries. It's everything that you do. Driving, having that independence, the ability to kind of move without feeling restricted, is kind of what they say [as to] why they need these bills. But they also spoke to something that I think was really interesting is the fact that they say that they've been working during the pandemic [and] that a lot of them help grow our food and kind of do the labor that is in the background, but still very much needed.

On What Opponents Say

I think that this is something people don't necessarily come and comment about. I've tried speaking to legislators asking about the specific bill. But in general, it's kind of bills that come with a lot of controversy. Typically, conservatives think that the ability to obtain a legal driver's license should be held for people with legal residency status in the United States.

Interview Transcript

Sophia Saliby: This is All Things Considered on WKAR. I’m Sophia Saliby.

Since 2008, Michigan has required proof of permanent legal residency to get a license or state ID.

That means thousands of undocumented people in the state have had no way to drive without breaking the law.

A new bill introduced into the state legislature would reinstate their ability to get a license or ID, but a hearing on the measure Tuesday was abruptly cancelled.

Araceli Crescencio is a reporter with WLNS-TV. She also co-hosts our podcast, "¿Qué Onda Michigan?" She was at the Capitol as advocates for the bill gathered demanding to be heard. Thanks for joining me.

Araceli Crescencio: Thanks for having me.

Saliby: Can you tell me what the mood was ahead of this hearing for the people who traveled to Lansing to testify in favor of the bill?

Crescencio: So, I was able to speak with members of Movimiento Cosecha on Friday, and they were trying to kind of get the word out [and] make sure that people showed up to Lansing on Tuesday, yesterday. And lots of people were excited. They kind of saw it as a milestone. This was the first time in their 13-year fight that they were able to have a hearing. And so, they were looking forward to testifying.

And then, at the last minute, they found out that it had been canceled. So, after that, they were pretty disappointed. I spoke to one member who said she was [indignant], and she feels like this is the disrespect that, that is shown to kind of this community for a long time now.

But they decided to still kind of rally, and so they took their message to the Capitol at the bottom floor. So, they still kind of held a rally there, and people testified and talked.

So, I think that it was definitely something that discouraged them, but also something that kind of inspired their fight to keep going.

Saliby: Do we know why the hearing was canceled?

Crescencio: Yes. So, I reached out to every member of the Michigan House Rules and Competitiveness Committee, which was the committee that was in charge of having the hearing.

And so, a spokesperson for the House Speaker [Jason] Wentworth, he told me that he reached out to the chairman of the House Rules and Competitiveness Committee because a lot of members reached out to him with concerns over this specific "DRIVE Safe" bills policy and the need to kind of finalize a budget by the end of this week.

And so, that's why it was cancelled. So, it kind of seemed like people were upset about this policy being kind of considered.

Saliby: Can you speak more on what opponents say about these bills?

Because clearly, there was, you know, some sort of internal politics to make it maybe delayed or not heard at least this week?

Crescencio: Yeah. I think that this is something people don't necessarily come and comment about. I've tried speaking to legislators asking about the specific bill.

But in general, it's kind of bills that come with a lot of controversy. Typically, conservatives think that the ability to obtain a legal driver's license should be held for people with legal residency status in the United States.

Saliby: Meanwhile, we have the soundbite from one of the organizers of the immigrant advocate group, Movimiento Cosecha. She spoke during the gathering. This is Gena Lowe.

We're still welcome to work, right? But how are we going to get to work?
Gena Lowe

Saliby: Can you speak more on the stories these undocumented workers shared about why they want to be able to get a license?

Crescencio: Yes, certainly, they told me it affects almost every aspect of their lives: dropping off their children, going to work, making sure that they can get groceries. It's everything that you do. Driving, having that independence, the ability to kind of move without feeling restricted, is kind of what they say [as to] why they need these bills.

But they also spoke to something that I think was really interesting is the fact that they say that they've been working during the pandemic [and] that a lot of them help grow our food and kind of do the labor that is in the background, but still very much needed.

And so, they feel like it's something that that they're owed and kind of deserve, especially with the last year and everything that they've kind of gone through.

Saliby: And do we know what happens next? Is there another hearing scheduled, or are we just kind of waiting at this time?

Crescencio: There is no word on whether the hearing will be rescheduled. I did speak to Representative Padma Kuppa, who is part of this specific committee, the Michigan House Rules and Competitiveness Committee, and she says it's her goal to have this hearing once more.

But it kind of depends on what the chairman thinks and kind of how that goes. I know that as for Movimiento Cosecha, they say that they're going to keep working to have a hearing and next time around, they'll have three to four times the people that showed up [Tuesday].

Saliby: Araceli Crescencio is a reporter for WLNS-TV. Thank you for joining me.

Crescencio: Thanks for having me.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Sophia Saliby is the local producer and host of All Things Considered, airing 4pm-7pm weekdays on 90.5 FM WKAR.
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