North Carolina, Raleigh – Starting July 1 of 2023, undocumented in the state of Massachusetts They will be able to process your driver's license.
With Massachusetts there will be 18 states that in 2023 issue driver's licenses for undocumented people in the United States.
While the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) continues to outline final requirements, Enlace Latino NC spoke with Rolando David Oliva from Harvest Movement, who advanced the documents that applicants must prepare.
Updated: they are already 20 states in the USA that process licenses for undocumented immigrants in 2023
What documents do you need to prepare?
According to David Oliva, undocumented immigrants seeking to obtain their driver's license in Massachusetts must meet the requirements of prove your identity, date of birth and your residence in Massachusetts, may use a variety of documents including a valid and current foreign passport or a valid and current consular identification document.
Driver's license requirements for undocumented immigrants Massachusetts
Undocumented people who reside in Massachusetts and who wish to process their driver's license in 2023, They must meet the following requirements and present the documentation at the RMV office:
1.Two valid proofs of identity
- Passport or consular registration and,
One of the following documents
- National identification.
- Birth certificate translated and notarized.
- Driver's license from the USA or another country, which has not expired.
- Marriage certificate or divorce decree issued by the United States.
2.Proof of Massachusetts residency
You can present any of the following documents to prove that you reside in Massachusetts:
- Utility bills: water, electricity, gas, telephone, etc.
- Bank documents: account statement, credit card, etc.
These documents must be current, and may be: passport or consular registration.
3.Letter from the Social Security Office
- Personal procedure which must be completed 60 days in advance of the date of your appointment at the office that corresponds to your city.
Regarding the letter from the Social Security Office, Oliva mentioned that it is a letter that this agency delivers stating that the bearer does not have a United States social security number.
"This is a personal process. We're already in discussions with the Social Security office about this process. They're willing to collaborate and help without any problem," Oliva explained.
The community leader indicated that this "denial letter" must be processed 60 days before the appointment at the RMV. "This is an essential requirement. You must obtain it 60 days in advance, otherwise it is invalid," he noted.
It may interest you
Do you reside in North Carolina and need a driver's license? this is what you need to process it
Beware of scams: “The license process is personal.”
Oliva alerted the community about the start of ads and unscrupulous people who have already begun to scam people.
"We already have notice that a person paid $500 to process a driver's license. But You do not have to pay anything ".
Oliva recalled that the window to start the process has not yet been opened. And when the month of July arrives, the procedure must be done in person.
“No one can make an appointment for you,” Oliva explained. “The person must go to the RMV office and make the appointment. It also can’t be done online,” he explained.
Oliva announced that Cosecha is holding free orientation talks so that people are informed and do not fall into scams.
“We publish in the Cosecha Massachusetts Facebook, also on Instagram Cosecha MA and people can sign up in each city in a WhatsApp chat,” he said.
Driver's Licenses: privacy and information security
Oliva mentioned that one of the concerns that the undocumented community has expressed has to do with the privacy of information. That is, the data and documents delivered to the RMV are not shared with immigration or other state or federal law enforcement agencies.
"A Massachusetts driver's license is for driving purposes only. It is not an identification document for federal authorities or for boarding an airplane."
"All documentation will be kept confidential. What we're telling people is that we have to break the fear," he stated.
However, there is one recommendation to follow: "If a person's record is damaged and, for example, they have a deportation order, consult with a lawyer first."
More than 20 years of struggle
To learn more about driver's licenses and the requirements to process them, you can visit the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles website (RMV) where you can also consult the information in Spanish.
More than 270 community organizations and after 20 years of struggle, the undocumented immigrant community of Massachusetts managed to get the state Legislature to approve a law that allows them to process their driver's license.
"It wasn't easy, it was a huge effort," he said. But how did they achieve it? After 18 years of lobbying within the state legislature and making no positive progress, in the last four years they changed their strategy and began to involve communities across the state to exert more pressure, Oliva said.
"We didn't stop lobbying, but we had the support of 28 police chiefs, nine of the 9 sheriffs, seven district attorneys, and the attorney general." In addition, there were marches, hunger strikes, and sit-ins outside the House and Senate speaker's offices, he explained.
“With all the activities we carried out, we managed to pass the law in three and a half years. Before, we hadn't even managed to get the bill to a public hearing,” he said. “It was a task we achieved by working together,” he concluded.
PODCAST
After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
▶️Press play to listen!
Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.
