Minimum Wage Increase, Driving Access for Immigrants, and More

As the Virginia General Assembly winds down, CASA celebrates major policy victories for immigrants and for workers. Among the many progressive victories celebrated across the session, CASA was proud to contribute to the passage of an increase of the state minimum wage that puts Virginians on a path to get to $15 an hour, passage of driver’s privilege cards for the undocumented, in-state tuition for immigrant youth, and a dramatic increase in state support for educational programming for English Learners.

“There is a lot more work to do, especially as we return to our local communities to demand pro-immigrant and pro-worker policies,” said Luis Angel Aguilar, Virginia Director of CASA. “But it is important to take a pause to reflect on the extraordinary advances that we have achieved in these 60 days.”

The proposals on their way to the Governor’s desk will raise the statewide minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2023 and contemplates further increases up to $15 after economic studies and subsequent votes by the legislature. The bill also removes harmful exemptions from coverage so that for the first time ever domestic workers, piece-rate workers, and employees at small businesses will be covered.

Immigrants will also be eligible for a driver’s privilege card upon showing that they have earned income in Virginia or been claimed as a dependent of the tax filing of someone who has. Similarly, immigrant youth will now be eligible for in-state tuition at the Commonwealth’s colleges and universities if they attended high school here for at least two years and graduated on or after July 1, 2008 or received a GED in Virginia, and can show that they or their parent or guardian has filed state income taxes for two years prior to registration. Under budget language supported by the administration, more teachers will be dedicated to support English Learner students.

“First we knocked on doors during election time, then we returned again and again to Richmond to convince legislators to vote for our families,” said Sandra Mejia, a CASA member from Springfield. “Legislators heard our voices and took action!”

Across session, CASA activists streamed into Richmond to lobby legislators. CASA brought 647 people to Richmond to fight for the minimum wage increase. Several CASA members spoke at press conferences and rallies describing the difficulty of surviving on the low wages they were paid. CASA brought 913 people to Richmond to fight for immigrant rights filling the galleries and hearing rooms on multiple occasions. That type of constant presence took a real toll on families struggling to make a living but it made an impact on the process.

“Families have come from the Eastern Shore for years to fight for licenses,” said Severiano Ventura, a CASA member that organized multiple buses to travel to Richmond. “We will remember the legislators that failed to fight for our families but for now we are celebrating a win we have waited years for.”

Multiple public officials played enormous leadership roles in pushing through these reforms.

CASA celebrates in particular the leadership of Delegate Jeion Ward, Senator Janet Howell, and Senator Jen McClellan for successfully passing dramatic improvements to Virginia minimum wage protections. Similarly, multiple legislators took leadership on the immigrant rights agenda and CASA applauds the work of Senators Jennifer Boysko, Emmett Hanger, and Scott Surovell, Delegates Rob Bloxum, Glenn Davis, Elizabeth Guzman, Alfonso Lopez, and Kathy Tran. CASA also appreciates the work of Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni who led the call for the administration to protect immigrant students.

It takes a village. CASA was proud to work side by side with our partners in Drive Virginia Forward, Raise the Wage, and the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights. Whether it is joining you at airports or hotels as your members organize for rights or ensuring that implementation protects our families from ICE enforcement, we are in the trenches with fierce brothers and sisters and nothing can stop us.

With over 100,000 members across the states of Maryland, Virginia, and South-Central Pennsylvania, CASA is the largest member-based Latino and immigrant organization in the mid-Atlantic region. CASA organizes with and litigates on behalf of low-wage immigrants. More information about CASA can be found at www.wearecasa.org and on Twitter at @CASAforall.