Irish played key role in new Illinois undocumented drivers licenses law

Illinois makes history and passes drivers licenses law for the undocumented

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Pictured immediately after the historic IL House vote (Left to Right) Chicago Irish Immigrant Support (CIIS) Executive Director Breandán Magee, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, CIIS Board President Cyril Regan

Photo by Breandán Magee

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From the floor of the House an emotive Crespo acknowledged the visit of Fr. Curran and the Irish and thanked them for their passion on the issue.  In the end he voted with his conscience and voted yes.  Another representative that the trio visited in the eleventh hour was Emily McAsey who had been a no on this issue and had voted consistently against pro immigrant measures in previous votes.  She also listened intently and had questions answered.  She had been visibly emotional in previous meetings in her district when undocumented immigrants told their stories of parents deported after being pulled over for a traffic violation.  Representative McAsey also voted yes. 

In total 65 lawmakers voted yes after listening to the impassioned debate on the House floor from those opposed and those in favor of the initiative.  Over 400,000 immigrants are deported annually and many such removals are triggered by a routine traffic stop.  Anyone apprehended while driving without a license may be booked and brought back to the station where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can put a hold on him/her and begin the deportation process.  Families are torn apart and as one advocate put it “ we are creating orphans with parents” as US citizen children remain here while one or more of their parents are sent back to their country of origin.

Back in the chamber a gasp of disbelief and elation rang out from the packed public galleries as the final vote flashed up on the electronic screen.  Everyone in the chamber knew that history had just been made and the tears followed amid the beaming smiles.  It was a highly charged crescendo to a long fought campaign for the bill’s ardent supporters.

Immigrant advocates in Illinois had been fighting for this measure for over 13 years; the last time that this proposal came up for a vote in 2007 it was defeated by a handful of votes in the House.  This time around a strong campaign led by ICIRR and key Irish community leaders built a coalition of supporters who persuaded many legislators to vote in favor.  Key proponents of the bill included Senate President John Cullerton, Representative Eddie Acevedo, Speaker Michael Madigan, House Minority Leader Tom Cross, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, the Latino Caucus, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Governor Pat Quinn, Former Governor Jim Edgar, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

This formidable coalition was strengthened by the support of the teachers unions, hospital associations, the labor unions, chambers of commerce, the state police association and the 130 member agencies of ICIRR.

The bill allows any immigrant in Illinois to secure a temporary visitor's’ driver’s license if he or she can provide proof of residency in Illinois for the last year, a valid passport or consular ID and pass all road tests.  The license will cost $30 but will appear somewhat different to the regular IL driver’s license; they will be colored purple as opposed to the red of regular licenses.  The TVDL already exists for foreign nationals who are here on student visas or temporary work visas.  It will not be valid for proof of identity to board a plane or enter a federal building and will be marked “not valid for identification”.  It can however be used as a bond card in the event that the holder is pulled over by a police officer and given that it is the same TVDL available to foreign students and visa holders law enforcement cannot assume that the holder is undocumented.

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