Lawmakers push to make it illegal for undocumented Mass. license holders to drive in N.H.
January 02, 2024
Gabriela Lozada, Report for America Corps Member, NHPR
Several Republican state legislators are proposing bills that would limit undocumented immigrants’ access to work and mobility in New Hampshire.
The first bill comes from seven state senators who are pushing to prohibit the use of out-of-state driver’s licenses issued specifically for undocumented immigrants. Senate Bill 358 aims to push back on a law passed in Massachusetts earlier this year that allows undocumented immigrants to drive lawfully in that state, issuing them licenses that don’t show their immigration status.
WBUR is a nonprofit news organization. Our coverage relies on your financial support. If you value articles like the one you’re reading right now, give today.
Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut have also passed similar legislation.
If the New Hampshire bill were to pass, it would be unlawful for an undocumented immigrant who lives in Massachusetts or Vermont to drive in New Hampshire, and that person would face a class B misdemeanor. The proposal would require the Division of Motor Vehicles to keep an updated list on their website of out-of-state class licenses that are invalid in New Hampshire. A state employee would be paid up to $66,000 to do that work.
Republican representatives want to revive the use of E-verify
In New Hampshire when a new employee is hired, the employer has no obligation to report that person’s immigration status to any government agency. A group of representatives aims to change that with a bill similar to one that failed to pass two years ago.
House Bill 1110 is supported by six Republican legislators. The bill says employers with 25 or more employees will have to use E-verify, a system that serves to match a person’s identity with the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Service database.
E-verify is used in at least 22 states and prevents employers from hiring people who are not eligible to work lawfully in the U.S without a resident card, citizenship, or a working visa.
A similar bill, also sponsored by Republican representatives, was tabled in the 2022 legislative session. At the time, advocates said the bill was discriminatory and questioned the accuracy of the system, noting it could throw false results that could wrongfully mark a worker as undocumented.
White House and congressional negotiators are discussing steps that officials say could potentially fill detention centers and halt the apprehension of migrants at the border.
We need everyone to Tell Senators: Do NOT trade asylum for emergency funding. Currently, a bipartisan group of Senators are negotiating a deal to pass funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in exchange for extreme, permanent changes to U.S. immigration and asylum law. This tradeoff would destroy refugee protections for people seeking safety and increase chaos at the US-Mexico border. We need your help to urge Senators to reject bad-faith deals meant to make it impossible to seek safety in the U.S. and deport people back to danger. Here is a call-in script that you can use to contact your senators to reject bad-faith deals meant to make it impossible to seek safety in the U.S. and deport people back to danger.
USCIS Expands myProgress to Form I-485 and Form I-821
On Nov. 21, we announced the availability of myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. myProgress will initially only be available for family-based or Afghan special immigrant Form I-485 applicants.
Applicants with a pending Form I-485 or Form I-821 can now log in to their USCIS online account to view confirmation of completed steps and estimated wait times until the next step in their case processing is completed, including:
Confirmation that the application was received;
Movement of the application through preprocessing and adjudicative steps; and
The case decision.
This is an important step in our efforts to improve the experience of the people we serve, increase transparency in adjudications, and reduce Contact Center wait times.
myProgress updates will be available for applications filed online or for paper-filed cases later linked to a USCIS online account using an online access code. Visit our How to Create a USCIS Online Account webpage for instructions on linking a paper-filed form to a USCIS online account.
All applicants and petitioners must still use the Check Case Processing Times webpage to determine eligibility to file an Outside of Normal Processing Times service request.
For more information on myProgress, see the full announcement. We will hold outreach activities to ensure applicants, petitioners, and interested parties are familiar with myProgress.
The BEAD Plan is for the physical extension of Broadband into every house, we heard from Dr McLaughlin regarding the Digital Equity Plan which is focused on 8 marginalized communities’ in NH and on Language, Culture, Wealth etc.
You can find the draft BEAD Plan here along with how to submit your comments:
