Letter to the Editor

Songs for the Open Road: A Concert to Drive Immigration Reform

To the Editor,

Before heading out on that summer road trip – maybe visiting long missed family and friends – take a moment to laugh about, sing about, and appreciate our ability to travel on Massachusetts roadways. Did you know that in Massachusetts driving is restricted not only by age and ability to drive, but by immigration status as well? Not so in 16 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, which have all removed immigration status as a barrier to driver’s licenses. 

The Work and Family Mobility Act, currently before the state legislature, would make Massachusetts #17 while making the roads here safer for us all.

Join us, on May 13, from 7:30-9 PM, for a free, online concert with hummable, humorous songs about driving performed by award-winning musicians: Cosy Sheridan, Greg Greenway, and Rosi and Brian Amador (of Sol y Canto). Hear a brief update on the bill from Natalicia Tracy, co-chair of Driving Families Forward.

This past year, especially, many of us have depended heavily on health care workers, food deliverers, and other essential workers who need to drive – many of whom are immigrants. While registering for this free concert, you can express your appreciation with a donation to the Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative’s Emergency Immigrant Relief Fund.

Every passenger, driver, cyclist, and pedestrian is safer when those behind the wheel are licensed and insured. For immigrants without licenses, a broken taillight, another driver’s mistake, or racial profiling can be a disaster that often leads to family separation, detention, and even deportation. Yes, a fender-bender can get you deported in Massachusetts! And so, the Jamaica Plain Progressives Immigrant Rights Action Group invites you to this event to show your support for a law that makes sense for us all. We hope you will be inspired to help us drive passage of the Work and Family Mobility Act forward.

You can register here: https://tinyurl.com/3zm6h7d2.

Jamaica Plain Progressives

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