Undocumented immigrants in Vermont won the right to drive on Tuesday, after a charged House vote ended a vigorous political push by migrant farmers and their advocates which lasted two years.
The House voted 105-39 to create a new and visibly different “driving privilege” card, which will allow about 1,500 undocumented dairy farmers, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala, to drive in the state legally.
The Senate approved the same legislation earlier this month, in a 27-2 vote. The bill heads for the desk of Gov. Peter Shumlin, who came out to support the bill back in November.
In a statement on Tuesday, Shumlin described the issue of mobility for these workers as a “matter of human dignity.”
“Migrant workers are an important part of agriculture in Vermont and many of our farms couldn’t survive without their help,” said Shumlin. “This legislation continues Vermont’s proud tradition of being an inclusive and fair place to live and work.”
House Democrats defeated a slew of amendments which mostly Republican legislators raised on the floor. Those amendments sought to mandate fingerprinting, criminal background checks, and coordination with the Department of Homeland Security on a terrorist watch list, for people applying for driving privilege cards.
The House Transportation Committee voted against all the amendments, often split along party lines. Rep. Molly Burke, P/D-Brattleboro, a sponsor of the bill, described some of the amendments as discriminatory and unnecessary.
Republican critics, most vocally Rep. Duncan Kilmartin, R-Newport City, warned of unintended consequences, and argued that the bill poses a threat to national security.
“This bill has significant potential for causing catastrophic harm to Vermonters, and also to those among us, undocumented, from Mexico and Guatemala,” said Kilmartin after voting against the legislation.
He started on a speech about the mayhem caused by Mexican drug cartels in Mexico, before being interrupted by Democratic Majority Leader Willem Jewett, D-Ripton, after another legislator questioned the relevance of that subject.
Kilmartin’s concerns included lower documentation standards for undocumented people applying for these new cards.
“The answer lies in federal immigration reform, which lies within our grasp,” added Rep. Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, who voted no. “The potential consequences of our actions could be very serious.”
Migrant workers celebrating their victory outside the Statehouse welcomed that thought. They said they’ve lobbied in Washington, D.C., for national immigration reform, and will intensify their efforts there now that they’ve won this statewide battle.
Democratic lawmakers on the floor argued that reason won out over fear-mongering on Tuesday, saying that the extra proposed provisions solved no problems, and simply targeted the migrant worker community unfairly.
“We heard a lot of talk about these people, and those people, and us and them. To me that’s simply not the American way, not the Vermont way,” said Burlington Democrat Kesha Ram on the House floor.
“It deserves to be said that these are people who are working hard in our state, that these are Vermonters too, just like us,” continued Ram. “We Vermonters don’t say this person belongs or that person doesn’t belong, [that] this person’s legal and this person’s illegal, and therefore they have different rights or protections.”
In a huddle outside the House floor after the vote, undocumented dairy workers, volunteers, and advocates celebrated their victory, hailing it as a step toward greater equality and rights for their community.
Later, Danilo Lopez, a former dairy worker, described the defeated amendments as “ridiculous,” adding that he felt they “discriminated and criminalized” his community.
But Lopez expressed happiness with the eventual outcome. “Slowly but surely, we’re moving away from the discrimination that has permeated our society for so long,” he said.
