BUSSW Students and Alum Lobby for Legislation Focused on Mobility and Safety for All Mass. Drivers – Regardless of Immigration Status
Cristina Brinkerhoff, doctoral candidate at BUSSW, knows the mobility struggle well. She was undocumented for seven years and had been afraid to drive herself. With 78% of Massachusetts workers needing to drive to work, the ability to get a license is essential. According to an opinion piece in The Boston Globe, the goal of the state’s system for licensing drivers is road safety, and the inability of unauthorized residents to apply for licenses presents a safety gap — fixing it requires a change in the law. Under a bill filed this year, immigrants like Brinkerhoff would be able to apply for a license.
Brinkerhoff and a group from the campaign for the Work and Family Mobility Act, headed by the Brazilian Worker Center (BWC) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU32BJ) with the support of countless other organizations, lobbied to move the bill out of the transportation committee to be called for a vote before February 5. A board member of the Brazilian Worker Center, Brinkerhoff joined Dr. Natalicia Tracy, executive director of the organization and BU alum, and BU student Chrystel Murrieta Ruiz (SEIU32BJ Political Coordinator) and others to lobby for the bill with state representatives. Brinkerhoff notes the bill will have a significant impact on the Brazilian community since this immigrant population has the highest number of undocumented persons in Massachusetts.
The legislation would enable all qualified Massachusetts drivers, regardless of immigration status, to apply for a standard license, which could only be used for driving, not for benefits, boarding a plane, or voting. Studies show similar legislation introduced in fourteen other states has lowered the number of uninsured drivers, reduced hit-and-run accidents, lowered insurance premiums for everyone, increased state revenue through license applications, and boosted state economies through increased auto and insurance sales. The bill recently received support from the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police Association, an organization that represents urban police chiefs in the state.
To support the group’s efforts, the public can send a letter to their lawmakers in the Massachusetts State Legislature to urge them to pass An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility (H.3012/S.2061) during this legislative session – simply go to this link to connect with your state representative.
Brinkerhoff began working with the Brazilian Worker Center through a community engaged planning grant exploring the implications of transnationalism, culture, and social networks for the health and behavior of Brazilian and Dominican immigrants, where BUSSW’s Dr. Linda Sprague Martinez was a principal investigator. Brinkerhoff was a NIH post masters level research fellow on the grant. Before studying at BUSSW, she worked at the Institute for Community Health as a research associate. She graduated from UMass Boston with a BA in Sociology in 2011 and a MA in Applied Sociology in 2014.