{"id":4842,"date":"2015-01-29T14:36:49","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T20:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=4842"},"modified":"2015-01-29T16:25:15","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T22:25:15","slug":"88500-undocumented-illinoisans-benefit-from-license-program-despite-kinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/88500-undocumented-illinoisans-benefit-from-license-program-despite-kinks\/","title":{"rendered":"88,500 undocumented Illinoisans benefit from license program despite kinks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Christine Smith<\/p>\n

Mayra Sarabia came to Chicago 23 years ago from Mexico hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. Unable to drive legally in Illinois because of her undocumented status, Sarabia jumped at the opportunity to obtain a valid license.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know cases of people who have been deported because of traffic violations,\u201d she said, \u201cso I always was afraid of what if I got stopped and end up incarcerated. After getting my license, I drive with more of a piece of mind now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sarabia, 40, is one of thousands of undocumented Chicagoans who is newly qualified to drive legally because of Illinois\u2019 expansion of its Temporary Visitor Driver\u2019s License (TVDL)<\/a> program in January 2014. The program, which now provides non-visa holding Illinois residents with a three-year driving license, has granted driving privileges to 88,680 Illinoisans within its first year of implementation, according to the Secretary of State\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Despite this higher than projected license distribution, government officials cite an ongoing effort to tweak the program and improve the appointment process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve certainly had our bumps in the road along the way,\u201d TVDL program director Lisa Grau said, \u201cbut we\u2019ve made constant adjustments through all phases of the program.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of those adjustments, according to Grau, is the expansion of the application submission period from three to six months to better meet appointment demand.<\/p>\n

And while community organizers, such as Southwest Organizing Project<\/a>\u2019s Imelda Salazar, believe that the long lines and limited appointment availability are not enough to undercut the benefits associated with the program, the program, according to Salazar, was not at the top of immigrants\u2019 list of priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cTVDL was not what we wanted,\u201d Salazar said, \u201cbut we got it\u2026and it really has changed the fear in Chicago about driving, but we would love for Chicago to one day be the city that gives IDs for all undocumented people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netza Roldan, CEO of Chicago\u2019s immigrant rights group CASA Mexico USA<\/a>, also believes more work needs to be done, but says TVDL is a step toward attaining more rights for immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cTVDL is a great success because it can be the first step for legalization of a lot of people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Grau notes that the program is not merely an immigration issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur point of view is that our job is to make the roads of Illinois safer,\u201d she said, \u201cand we really truly believe that by implementing this program, that\u2019s what we\u2019re achieving.”<\/p>\n

Grau said the Secretary of State\u2019s office hopes to surpass the number of temporary licenses it distributed this year by the program\u2019s second anniversary in 2016.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: More than 88,000 Illinoisans have received licenses that look like this sample since the state\u2019s Temporary Visitor Driver\u2019s License program became fully operational in January 2014. (Office of the Secretary of State)<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christine Smith Mayra Sarabia came to Chicago 23 years ago from Mexico hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. Unable to drive legally in Illinois because of her undocumented status, Sarabia jumped at the opportunity to obtain a valid license. \u201cI know cases of people who have been deported because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":4848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-affairs","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\n88,500 undocumented Illinoisans benefit from license program despite kinks - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/88500-undocumented-illinoisans-benefit-from-license-program-despite-kinks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"88,500 undocumented Illinoisans benefit from license program despite kinks - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Christine Smith Mayra Sarabia came to Chicago 23 years ago from Mexico hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. 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