Getting Closer to Winning Driver’s Licenses for All
We’re turning up the heat on our struggle for equal access to driver’s licenses in New York State. We are tired of the purely rhetorical and symbolic gestures of support for immigrants from our leaders. We need concrete change. We need action, and we need it now. Read our newsletter to learn more about how we’ve been advancing our campaigns.
We’ve won both a Beacon and Middletown Green Light resolution this month! Basically, they have officially signed onto our statewide campaign to win equal access to driver’s licenses, regardless of immigration status.
We are working to win resolutions from cities across the Hudson Valley in order to build momentum and show our state representatives just how many of us support the Green Light legislation. New Paltz will be the next city to vote on a resolution on March 13th!
We secured Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson’s support for the Green Light! In fact — Assemblyman Jacobson has signed on as an official co-sponsor of the legislation.
We are so appreciative of the Assemblyman’s willingness to take a stand for our immigrant communities that desperately need access to driver’s licenses. We look forward to working together to bring more state representatives on board and to advance this urgent legislation. You can send him and his team a thank you here!
We brought together over 200 immigrants and allies at our Green Light forum in Middletown on Saturday. We discussed how expanding driver’s license access for undocumented New York residents will keep families together and makes our roads safer.
State Senator Jen Metzger and Assemblymember Aileen Gunther attended the forum in order to hear about the issue from the community and declared their support for the legislation. You can read more about it in our press coverage from the Daily Freeman, Times Herald-Record, and Mid-Hudson News.
We are building a powerful group of members in Newburgh! They’re showing up to member meetings, recruiting friends and family, and demanding that the City Council pass our Municipal ID legislation. Our most recent member meeting (pictured above) has so many people, we couldn’t even fit into the deli. It may be time to start looking for our fourth office… Stay tuned!
We are fighting for a fair and accurate census!
There is so much at stake with the 2020 Census. The census determines how electoral districts are drawn and how resources are allocated. Everything from healthcare, housing, and education, to public services and food stamps, to internet access, is at risk. The undercounting of our communities would have a detrimental impact — underfunding vital public infrastructure and further depriving us of fair voting representation.
That’s why we’re a part of the statewide coalition, New York Counts 2020. Together, we’re fighting to win $40 million in state-funding for community-based outreach to ensure that New Yorkers across the state — particularly marginalized communities in hard-to-count districts — can fully maximize their participation in the census.
