Actor Danny Glover will March to stop REAL ID in Wis. March 24th at 2 p.m. – March from Brittingham Park to the Capitol

Madison – Film star and activist Danny Glover will travel to Madison to join the March for Immigrant Rights which steps off at 2 pm on Saturday, March 24, at Brittingham Park proceeding to a rally at the State Capitol. Glover will be accompanied by Bruce Raynor, international president for UNITE HERE, a union representing a large number of immigrant workers in the hotel and apparel industries.

Speakers at the State Capitol rally will call on Congress to craft a humane and workable immigration reform bill – and also call on the state of Wisconsin to put a moratorium on Act 126, the first step in implementing the federal REAL ID Act, scheduled to go into effect April 1.

In addition to Glover and Raynor, speakers at the State Capitol rally will include: David Newby, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO; Rep. Mark Pocan (D–Madison);, UW Regent Jesus Salas, a farm worker organizer in the 1960s who worked with Cesar Chavez; and Stacy Harbaugh, Community Advocate with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

Organized labor, the Immigrant Workers Union and other allies are asking the legislature and Governor’s office to take a closer look at the problems Act 126 (Legal Presence in Wisconsin) will create for everyone in the state. As of April 1, anyone applying for (or renewing) a Wisconsin driver’s license must prove they are in the country legally, which may be difficult to do without a certified birth certificate or U.S. passport.

Measures like the Wisconsin law also mean more red tape, longer lines, repeat trips, and higher fees. Implementation of the law is expected to cost $23 billion in taxpayer dollars nationally while doing little if anything to protect against terrorism. Critics of Real ID, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), say the law will also increase the risk of identify theft, enable the routine tracking of individuals, and propel us toward a surveillance society.

According to the ACLU, there is a growing rebellion against REAL ID nationwide. In January, the Maine legislature passed a resolution rejecting participation in the ID scheme and Idaho enacted a similar law this month. Measures to resist the implementation of Real ID have been passed by one chamber in the legislatures of ten states including Arizona and Georgia. Bills rejecting Real ID have also been introduced in Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia, with more expected in the coming weeks.

Federal legislation to repeal REAL ID has been introduced but Wisconsin is still moving forward with new restrictions.

“We hope that the legislature and the Doyle administration will consider the best interests of the people in Wisconsin. REAL ID is far from being accepted at the state level and citizens are not prepared to meet the requirements of ACT 126,” said Alex Gillis of the Immigrant Workers Union.

“The state is moving forward with higher fees and a policy that will cause massive confusion and inconvenience at the DMV, while making our roads less safe with more unlicensed drivers,” said Gillis. “The only wise and responsible way to proceed with ACT 126 is to wait until after comprehensive immigration reform and the fate of the REAL ID Act are decided in Congress.”

For more on Real ID visit the ACLU’s website:
www.RealNightmare.org
About the campaign
The Immigrant Workers Union is a grassroots organization focused on immigrant and worker rights advocacy in the Dane County area. Other organizations supporting the campaign against REAL ID and ACT 126 include: South Central Federation of Labor, the Interfaith Coalition for Worker’s Justice, SEIU Local 1 “Justice for Janitors”, SEIU District 1199W, PRD (Madison branch of the Mexican Party), UNITE HERE, immigrant rights groups in Beloit and Whitewater, and many others.
For additional information contact:
Alex Gillis, Immigrant Workers Union
uti.madison@gmail.com - (608) 345-9544
http://www.uniondetrabajadores.org/
Stacy Harbaugh, ACLU Community Advocate
SHarbaugh@aclu-wi.org
(608) 469-5540

Jim Cavanaugh, President
South Central Federation of Labor
Jim@SCFL.org
(608) 256-4540