The Immigrant Story

Maria Del Valle wakes up at 6:00 a.m. on a rainy Monday. She gets her kids ready for school by quickly preparing two peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and hurries them out the door. Her children hop on a school bus and they are off. Del Valle then walks a block to her bus stop, hoping she’ll be to work on time.

“It’s an injustice to think that I won’t even be able to vote next year on a bill that could allow me to drive.” says Del Valle.

Senate Bill 833 will be on the November 2014 ballot. If the bill passes it will allow undocumented people to obtain a driver’s cards on four-year periods. The measure was passed in October but opponents of the bill sent in nearly 71,000 signatures to send the measure to a ballot, according to the Oregonian.

This is what Del Valle deems to be an unfair battle between anti-immigrant groups and undocumented people who are not able to vote.

“Many undocumented people drive without licenses. They are afraid because they don’t have insurance, but what can they do when they have kids to get to school and a job to get to.”

This however is the reality that most undocumented people will continue to face, at least for the next year. According to Secretary-Treasurer for PCUN (Oregon’s Farm Worker Union) Jaime Arredondo, the measure to allow undocumented people the right to a driver’s license was a huge step in the battle for immigration reform nationwide, but the repeal was orchestrated by wealthy individuals who did not want the bill to pass.

“The measure was done; it was legal for people without papers to be able to to drive but suddenly we hear that signatures were sent into the Secretary of State’s office and now we find ourselves in this battle for a right that every resident of Oregon should have,” says Arredondo.

Arredondo is an advocate for Senate Bill 833 and recently spoke at Huerto de la Familia, a community-farming program that helps migrant farmers earn a comfortable living. He urged audience members to vote yes for the bill, saying that everyone has a role in this fight.

Migrant farmer Margarito Palacios has a license but his wife, Tina does not. He works long days and does his best to be there for his wife and new-born daughter but it is a real struggle knowing that he is the only one who can legally drive in his family.

“When the measure first passed I was honestly relieved. Now I would be able to leave the truck to Tina so she could take our daughter to the doctor’s but my friend called me later and said that something had gone wrong. I was disappointed but Tina was furious,” says Palacios.

Margarito Palacios prepares to go to work while his wife stays home with their newborn.

This is just one of many cases that gives reason for voters to pass Senate Bill 833, according to Arredondo.

Although support is strong for the Senate Bill to pass, there remains strong opposition against the bill. Protect Oregon Driver’s Licenses is one of the groups that gathered signatures to repeal the measure back in October. Communications Director Jim Ludwick states that by granting driver’s licenses to undocumented people the door will be open for large amounts of illegal activity across Oregon. The matricula card that most undocumented Mexicans identify with is not sufficient according to Ludwick.

“By allowing this bill to pass we are opening ourselves to the possibility of terrorist attacks,” Ludwick said.

The P.O.D.L. says that most undocumented people already use fake names and addresses to obtain driver’s licenses, similar to the terrorists that obtained identification in in Virginia in the 9/11 bombings. Ludwick also added that the myth that licensing undocumented people will stimulate the economy is false.

“Moreover, most illegal aliens are low-wage workers who send a significant portion of their earnings to their home countries in the form of remittances. They have little incentive to spend their wages on car insurance, and even less incentive to wait for the police to arrive after an accident, since contact with law enforcement authorities could result in deportation,” added Ludwick.

When the measure was passed in October, the opposition moved quickly to gather enough signatures to send the measure into a November 2014 vote. Arredondo claims that many of these signatures were gathered from undocumented people themselves.

“Many of these people were manipulated in order to get their signatures. They were told that by signing they would bet more benefits. They knew people were uneducated and they took advantage of that,” says Arredondo.

Paulina Romo Villasenor has been working with families over the last few years to make sure they are not taken advantage of. She urges people to attend meetings to clarify what certain petitions truly imply and to hold on to any paper work given to them by representatives.

“It’s important to keep the people informed and influence others to encourage education and the promotion of this bill,” says Villasenor.

Villasenor adds thats she does not think that family literacy programs are important so that people are not taken advantage of, but in the end it is up to the individual to stay informed and up to date on the the senate bill.

Both parties for and against the bill have begun campaigning but it remains to be seen which side will gather more support as the November election nears. for Del Valle, she will continue to charter the bus until the election but hopes that come November she will have the right to drop off her children at school herself.

“I am hoping for a good outcome but I know that there is a long fight ahead of us if we want this bill to pass,” says Del Valle.