In New York, offer to issue a driver's license

City council members and human rights organizations called on New York State leaders to guarantee the right to get driver's licenses for all residents of the region, regardless of their immigration status.

Фото: Depositphotos

On February 13, the council approved a resolution supporting the state’s adoption of a bill that would allow the Department of Vehicles to issue driver’s licenses to New Yorkers without requiring their social security numbers and asking about their immigration status. AMNY.

City Councilor Idanis Rodriguez said that such a law would have made New York a better place for immigrants.

“I am an immigrant, born and raised in another country, but I also belong to the United States. We are sending a message to New York State that 8,5 million New York City residents say there must be a limit to everything,” Rodriguez said.

According to the City Hall, approximately 3,1 million immigrants live in New York, 560 000 of whom are illegal.

Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, Stephen Choi, said that the state should decide on the lives of these people: “Are we going to support and protect immigrants or not?”

“The Trump administration has demonized immigrants, targeted them, deported thousands of immigrants from New York, torn them from their families. The only thing we hear from our immigrant communities is that driver's licenses are the biggest problem. This is the only thing Albany can do, the only law Albany can pass to protect New York's immigrants,” Choi said.

At a meeting in support of this idea, many participants stated that driving licenses are a human right, regardless of their immigration status. Two supporters, a resident of Queens, Jorge Ortiz and a Bronx resident Jessica Ortiz expressed support for the idea.

Jessica and Jorge are US citizens. But many of their friends are immigrants who cannot fully care for their families and struggle to get a driver's license.

“This is a necessity. We have a lot of undocumented people here who work very far from where they live. Some places are not easily accessible by public transport. Sometimes you get off the train and you have to walk 20 minutes to get to a certain building,” Jessica Ortiz said.

According to the Office of Immigrant Affairs, immigrants own 52% of New York enterprises and contribute almost 200 billions of dollars to the city’s gross domestic product. Just over 77% of city illegals are an active part of the region’s workforce.

In his speech, Jorge told the Immigration Committee that giving driver’s licenses to all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, would only strengthen the economy of the city and state. Without a driver’s license, people cannot buy cars that will allow them to better provide for their communities.

“This will make our roads safer, strengthen the state's economy, build trust in the community and provide immigrants with access to vital identification documents needed to live a normal daily life. Immigrants with access to driver's licenses are more likely to have good jobs that support their communities,” said Jorge.

The driver license bill was submitted to the State Legislature in January and is currently being considered by the transport committees of the Assembly and the Senate of New York.

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