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Guest Columnist – Celebrating Progress, Fighting for the Future

Celebrando el progreso y luchando por el Futuro Celebrating Progress, Fighting for the Future

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Hon. Jessie Ulibarri (*)

Former Colorado State Senator

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This year is the 10-year anniversary of the creation of the SB 251 driver’s license program, which granted immigrants living in Colorado the ability to receive a state issued ID. The premise of the program was simple – Colorado’s roads and families would be safer if everyone on the road had the ability to be licensed and insured. And for undocumented immigrants and people with mixed status families, the license program helped to protect loved ones from being permanently separated from their families over minor traffic violations.

At the heart of this policy is the idea that every person has dignity, and the freedom to move should be protected under the law. Every person has moved at one point in their life – whether it’s to get a new job or to build a family or to flee violence in your home country or to seek new opportunities. Immigrants of all backgrounds have come to Colorado for a variety of reasons, and our laws should protect all of us. As of this year, more than 250,000 Coloradans have gained a license or ID due to this important program – keeping families together and providing more safety to our communities.

The program was initially implemented as a pilot project, with licenses being offered in only 3 Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) offices in the state. Due to high demand and difficulties for rural communities to gain access to these sites, community members successfully advocated to expand access across the state. Earlier this month, Governor Jared Polis announced that the program would now be available in all DMV offices statewide, and the program has been renamed as the Standard Driver License.

As one of the legislative sponsors of the original legislation, I am incredibly proud of the community members, activists and organizations that made this program a reality and continue to improve its administration. The initial idea came from “Licensias Para Todos”, a grassroots group of people who were fighting to make sure our community members were protected by state law. I worked closely with these leaders to draft the policy – often working after midnight and until the very end of session – and we celebrated together when the bill was signed into law.

This dedicated group of individuals and many other immigrant rights groups from across the state have continued to successfully advocate for improvements in the program, and this is truly a community-driven victory. Colorado now serves as a national leader in equitably and sensibly working to support immigrant community members. But the fight isn’t over. As we see in other states, like Florida, some politicians in this country remain committed to dividing our country by attacking immigrants and writing laws that make all of us less safe.

We must remain vigilant and active to keep Colorado a place where every person has dignity under our laws.

Celebrating Progress, Fighting for the Future

(*) Hon. Jessie Ulibarri represented Commerce City, Federal Heights, Westminster, Arvada and unincorporated Adams County from 2012-2016. In his career, he has helped to pass hundreds of bills into law, with a focus on immigrant rights, LGBTQ equality, family economic security, and gender equity.