No Licenses for the Undocumented, Farmers Branch also says No for Housing, and Stop the Hate Site Launched
►States Saying No to Drivers Licenses for the Undocumented
States that used to offer driver’s licenses are turning direction as Michigan and Oregon have decided to stop all issuing of licenses to the undocumented. Starting in 2010, the state of Maryland is requiring that anyone applying for a license prove they are here legally. All three of these states had no specific immigration status requirements before 2008.
USA Today reported that five states currently offer licenses for the undocumented, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, Utah and Washington but with the exception of Hawaii have been under pressure to change their laws. In Illinois, the General Assembly, a bill that would issue a driving certificate for the undocumented, sits in the state senate after passing by four votes (60-56) in the House. State Senator Mike Jacobs told us in an interview, that he expects HB 1100 to be voted on this year in the senate.
►National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Hoping to Stop the Hate
The largest Latino civil right organization, the National Council of La Raza has started a website to “take the hate out of the immigration debate.” The website is www.wecanstopthehate.org and features hate flashpoints that include an incident in Omaha, Nebraska where Eduardo Garcia’s truck is spray painted with a derogatory comment unsuitable for print.
Other features from the site include a myths vs. facts section, code names for hate, and media malpractice among other things. The site gives credit to the Anti-Defamation League, the Center for Economic Progress, the Center for American Progress, and www.mediamatters.org for helping the NCLR in its work.
►Farmers Branch, Texas Doesn’t Want the Undocumented
Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, approved a new rule that would ban landlords from renting apartments to the undocumented. The decision was unanimous by the elected officials of the town and the new law requires that a city license is needed to rent which in turn is turned into the federal government to find out about legal status.
The town passed a similar bill in the past and faces legal issues like whether the federal government can actually have a base determining one’s legal status. Farmers Branch has also made English its official language and on the city’s website said that anyone who violates any provisions of the housing ordinance and is convicted “shall be fined in a sum not to exceed $500 and a separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.”
ONLINE:
Myths vs. Facts. To find out the myths and facts about immigration log on to:
www.wecanstopthehate.org
Visit the Nacional Council of La Raza online at: www.nclr.org
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