Because undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid, changes to in-state tuition policies could make all the difference to the estimated 2,000 undocumented teens who graduate from high schools in Virginia annually, and who face additionally uncertainty depending on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “In my neck of the woods, I’ve met students who should be going to MIT and Cal Tech who can’t afford Northern Virginia Community College,” Lopez told The Virginia Mercury. “We invest millions of dollars in these kids and then put up a stop sign saying, ‘No, you can’t go any further.’”
Ingrid Vaca teared up as she told The Virginia Mercury about the huge difference a driver’s license will make to her daily life. The Alexandria housekeeper said she currently spends two hours getting to work on public transit because getting pulled over for driving without a license could result in arrest and even deportation. This has happened to other families. “It’s very, very important for me—this moment,” she said. “My life was in the hands of all the people who voted today.”
The two chambers will now work out the differences between the two versions of the bill, and should Gov. Ralph Northam sign it into law, it would make Virginia the 16th state in the nation to allow undocumented residents to drive legally. Making sure that all drivers on the road are licensed and insured is both a matter of public safety and a financial boon to states: The policy group Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis estimates that Virginia would see as much as $17 million in revenue within the first two years of implementation.
“Driving is a necessity for most families, not a choice,” the group said. “Expanding access to licenses would help parents get to parent-teacher conferences, families get to church, and workers get to their jobs. Unauthorized immigrants are already a part of Virginia’s economy and communities, with many living in ‘mixed-status’ families with lawfully present and U.S. citizen relatives. Access to licenses would not only help the individual unauthorized immigrant, it would also help their relatives and other community members. And it would help all of us live in a safer, more prosperous commonwealth.”
In December, advocates who had been fighting for years to enact driver’s license legislation cheered as New Jersey became the 15th state to expand that access to their families. One resident and Make the Road New Jersey advocate, Margarita Rodriguez, told NorthJersey.com that because she’ll soon be able to drive legally, she and her child, who requires regular medical visits to a specialist, will no longer have to spend hours on the bus. “It’s extremely hard,” she said. “That’s why I have a night shift, so I can do all this in the morning. Many nights I don’t sleep.”
“There’s a growing cognizance that these are communities who need licenses and in-state tuition,” Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights executive director Monica Sarmiento said. “They’re filled with talented people who already contribute to the Virginia economy and need a path forward to build their own prosperity.”
Source: http://feeds.dailykosmedia.com/~r/dailykosofficial/~3/e7jYwiPs3Hc/-Virginia-lawmakers-pass-bills-expanding-driving-access-in-state-tuition-to-undocumented-residents