Public Employee Press

Coalition fights threat to immigrant drivers’ licenses

One of the central issues that the DC 37 Citizenship Committee will be involved with in the coming months is the New York State Drivers’ License Campaign.

“This is a very import issue for immigrants in New York,” said Cuthbert Dickenson, the new chair of the DC 37 Citizenship Committee and president of Quasi-Public Employees Local 374. The state of New York is threatening to suspend the drivers’ licenses of almost 300,000 immigrants who cannot verify their Social Security numbers.

Starting in January 2004 the Dept. of Motor Vehicles began checking the Social Security numbers of everyone in the state who has a driver’s license against the federal database. This search resulted in over 600,000 “no matches” between people’s name and their Social Security numbers. The DMV then sent letters to all these people asking them to verify their social security numbers or face losing their license.

According to the New York Civic Participation Project, about 300,000 immigrants now stand to loose their licenses. Studies have shown that taking away immigrants’ licenses increases the number of unregistered, unlicensed and uninsured cars on the road. Suspending their licenses would also severely reduce their ability to work and support their families. Many immigrants not only support their families in New York but send money to family members overseas as well.

A coalition of over 40 community organizations and labor unions, among them SEIU Local 32BJ, UNITE HERE and DC 37, have banded together to fight the restrictions. On Dec. 15 more than 150 union members rallied against this harsh policy in front of Governor Pataki’s Manhattan office.

“We believe that immigrant workers are a vital part of our country regardless of their immigration status,” said Gouri Sadhwani, executive director of the New York Civic Participation Project, one of the members of the coalition. “Our work now is to continue to push the governor to meet with us and come up with a solution that will enable 300,000 immigrants to keep their licenses and their livelihoods.”