Photo by Matt Cohen.

This morning, the D.C. Council will vote on a proposal to issue undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses.

Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who chairs the Council’s transportation committee, originally pushed for no distinction for immigrants on District licenses, but recently backed away from that stance and took some harsh criticism from immigrant rights supporters.

Last night, a small group of supporters, led by the D.C. Immigrant Rights Coalition, met in front of the Van Ness Metro station in Cheh’s Ward 3 neighborhood to hold a vigil in support of equal driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. “Today we’re going to send a message, definitely to Mary Cheh,” said Salvador Sarmiento, who lead last night’s vigil, “but also to the folks in her neighborhood, Ward 3, that it’s about access, but it’s also about not facilitating discrimination in D.C.”

Marybeth Onyeukwu, an undocumented D.C. resident, told DCist that “it’s about time for DC’s immigrant communities to have access to driver’s licenses and identification.” But she expressed disappointment in D.C. officials. “I am disappointed that some of our elected leaders acquiesced to federal pressure rather than keeping their word and standing up for the policy that is best for DC—one standard license for one united city,” she said. “This two-tiered system will facilitate racial profiling and leave D.C. residents more vulnerable to deportation if they travel within the DMV area. Despite this disappointment, I am thankful for our strong allies on the Council—Graham, Grosso, Barry, and Wells—who were willing to champion the cause of equal access.”

Although only a little more than a dozen supporters met for the rally, they made their voice heard. After marching and chanting down Connecticut Avenue, the group made their way to Cheh’s house to deliver their message directly. Unfortunately, Cheh wasn’t home, but the group did give a flyer to a woman who was at Cheh’s house and then sang some songs for the neighbors.

And as to that message they wanted to deliver to Cheh? “[The D.C. Council] has taken us five months back in time, and that’s very upsetting,” Sarmiento told DCist. “We have a long tradition of being a immigrant-friendly city and we want to uphold that tradition.”