Dear Friend,

We're just a year away from being federally required to stamp a scarlet
letter on undocumented immigrants.

October 20, 2020, is the date that the Department of Homeland Security is
requiring driver's licenses to be REAL ID compliant in order to fly or
enter secure federal buildings, and states are in charge of following REAL
ID requirements for their local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMVs).(1)

Immigrants and other people that don't have the exhaustive paperwork
required for a REAL ID will be given an alternate driver's license -- a
bright signal to anyone who sees it that they might not be documented.

[ [link removed] ]Requiring REAL ID to fly and withholding this identification from
residents of California is a violation of their rights. Will you sign our
petition calling on Democratic presidential candidates to reject REAL ID?

In 2015, California began granting driver's licenses to DACA recipients
and immigrants with documentation.(2)

This was essential to our community, allowing people to drive legally and
obtain services. 

But obtaining a REAL ID is different -- applicants have to show up to the
DMV in person with their birth certificate or passport, a social security
card or official document showing a social security number, and two
documents of residency in California, including a mortgage bill or vehicle
registration.(3)

DACA recipients can only get temporary REAL IDs, and people without
documentation cannot get a REAL ID at all. People who can't get ahold of
their birth certificates or who don't own a home or a car will find it
difficult, if not impossible, to get a REAL ID. People whose names are
different than what is on their marriage licenses or other documentation
will also have a hard time obtaining a REAL ID. Instead, they will receive
licenses that will say “Federal Limits Apply" -- or, in some states, they
won't be able to get licenses at all.

This isn't just about the ability to board an airplane, although for some
in our communities, that will be reality under Real ID, since air travel
is regulated at the federal level. This is about making people carry a
government ID that marks them as undocumented or impoverished.

This is about the landlord who decides he won't rent to applicants without
a REAL ID, or an employer who makes the same policy. This is about ICE
having the ability to pull databases of people who didn't qualify for a
REAL ID from DMVs.

This is a terrifying mark on immigrants without documentation, and we
can't allow that to mar our communities.

New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Oregon haven’t begun issuing REAL ID yet. What's
more, 99 million people currently don’t have REAL ID compliant driver's
licenses, which gives us real leverage to stop the requirement.(4) We need
the candidates running against Trump to pledge to stop REAL ID.

[ [link removed] ]Will you sign our petition calling on the 2020 Democratic presidential
candidates to reject REAL ID?

Yours in the fight for justice,

Mary, along with Analeeza, Annie, Brian, Caitlin, Deepthi, Eddie, Gabby,
Lindsay, Molly, Phillip, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage Campaign team)

Footnotes:
1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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