New year brings driver’s licenses and protection for immigrants
Many immigrants in California greet the New Year with an opportunity to obtain a driver’s license for the first time. It is a result of one of the new laws supported by the United Farm Workers welcoming the undocumented that were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. Another new law that took affect Jan. 1 allows the suspension of business licenses of employers that retaliate against workers exercising their rights by threatening to report their immigration status.
Still, much of the efforts by the UFW and the UFW Foundation in 2015 will focus on helping hundreds of thousands of immigrant farm workers—including more than 125,000 in California—achieve protection from deportation under President Obama’s executive order issued last November. This long-anticipated victory follows the UFW’s 14-year struggle for immigration reform. We have been preparing for some time to assist the countless men and women who will be eligible for protection under the President’s administrative action put together their documentation and navigate the burdensome application process.
Of course, relief for millions more hardworking, taxpaying New Americans will depend on the new Republican-controlled Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. This bill was overwhelmingly approved on a bipartisan vote by the U.S. Senate in June 2013, but died after a year and a half of inaction by leaders of the GOP-controlled House. We’ll keep fighting!
Si Se Puede!
Arturo S. Rodriguez, President
United Farm Workers of America