Photo via Office of Mayor Vince Gray
Mayor Vince Gray formally introduced a bill this afternoon that would offer driver’s licenses to all D.C. residents, regardless of immigration status. At a press conference at the John A. Wilson Building, Gray and members of the D.C. Council received multiple rounds of applause of a briefing room packed with immigration and labor activists.
The legislation, titled the Drivers Safety Act, would “increase safety for all who drive, walk, ride, or bike,” Gray said. If passed—and Gray said he would sign it right away if it goes through the Council—D.C. would join Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and Washington in offering driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. Gray cited Maryland in particular, which adopted such a measure in March. (Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the legislation into law today in Annapolis.)
Gray also said the bill would go toward repelling a black market from which undocumented immigrants obtain falsified licenses and other types of documentation. In order to qualify for a driver’s license under the bill, an undocumented immigrant would have show proof of residency for at least six months, prove their ineligibility to obtain a Social Security number, be a registered taxpayer with the Internal Revenue Service, and show an unexpired passport from their country of origin.
“My administration has had numerous conversations about protecting the rights of the undocumented immigrants who have made the District their home,” Gray said.
The mayor was joined by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmembers Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1).
“They are here,” said Cheh, who chairs the Council’s transportation committee. “They are a part of our community. We will be doing something that is fair and humane. We must do it and we will do it.”
Graham, whose ward has a large immigrant population, delivered some of his remarks in Spanish.
The bill’s introduction was also praised by a string of immigrants’ rights activists and labor officials. “We have about 10,000 members, mostly commercial office cleaners,” said Jaime Contreras, the vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ. “Folks who clean this building are members. Most of our members are immigrants. Everybody should be able to lead a productive life.”
Of course, any bill passed by the D.C. government is subject to Congress’ review. Members of the U.S. Senate are currently deliberating the first major overhaul of federal immigration policy in several years, with the House also plotting out its own legislation. That fact was not lost on the District officials’ press conference, with Gray telling reporters he has heard “rumbling” about the driver’s license issue from Capitol Hill.
