For Immediate Release: April 1, 2019
Media Contact: Catalina Santiago, (857) 271-6926, Cosechamedia@gmail.com
Thousands march on May 1 to demand Drivers Licenses for all Immigrants
Businesses close, communities confront politicians, and thousands march on May 1st in support of drivers licenses.
NATIONWIDE - Undocumented immigrants from Movimiento Cosecha in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and New Jersey have taken to the streets on May Day, May 1st, to express their struggles and frustrations for not having access to a driver’s license. Every day mothers and fathers leave home without knowing if this will be the last time they will see their family. What may appear as a simple traffic violation can turn into an arrest, detention, and deportation. Undocumented immigrants are tired of living in fear everyday when they walk out their doors, and have decided to take action today to demand access to driver’s licenses and put an to end to deportations and family separation.
The immigrant community is organizing people power to bring immigrant workers, families, business owners, and their allies together under one movement for the 11 million. Today, each of these May 1st events will once again serve as the vehicle for all who stand with immigrants to unite and continue the uphill battle for dignity, respect, and permanent protection for all immigrants.
Countless industries depend on the labor and buying power of undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are forced to drive without a driver’s license due to state documentation requirements, but do so anyway out of necessity for their families. The immigrant community is now fighting against the fear of being detained by police officers for merely dropping their children off at school, taking their children to the hospital, or driving to work. They are tired of living in constant vigilance, worried about the possibility of seeing flashing red and blue lights which can foreshadow a deportation, funneling the undocumented community into the vicious mouth of the family separation apparatus.
Movimiento Cosecha does not stand alone in the pursuit of driving without fear. It is one small step towards Cosecha’s ultimate goal of permanent protection for all immigrants. The immigrant community is organizing to obtain Driver’s Licenses for All across the country as part of this step. Twelve states and Washington DC have granted driver’s licenses for the undocumented community because the community organized and spoke out: there are over 30 states who are left behind. Voces Sin Fronteras is determined to make Wisconsin the 13th state to grant licenses to undocumented immigrants, arranging a massive mobilization effort on May Day
###
Movimiento Cosecha is a nonviolent movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Our name, "harvest" in Spanish, honors the long tradition of farmworker organizing and the present-day pain of the thousands of undocumented workers whose labor continues to feed the country. Committed to winning real victories for our community, Cosecha believes in using non-cooperation to leverage the power of immigrant labor and consumption and force a meaningful shift in public opinion.
CREDO Action, part of CREDO Mobile, is a social change network of millions of activists, sending tens of millions of petition signatures and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to decision-makers each year. CREDO Action members also participate in meetings, protests and other direct action for progressive change.