Miguel Flores lives four miles from the nearest bus stop. The only way to get there is on a two-lane road that cuts through a nature preserve in Southampton, Long Island. There’s no sidewalks or bike lanes, but there are two speed traps where, according to Flores, police wait seven hours a day to catch people speeding.
"The police are very hard on arresting and giving people tickets," he said in Spanish.
Flores is from El Salvador. He’s lucky in that he has Temporary Protected Status, which means he can get a New York driver's license. His brothers aren't so lucky — one of them just got two tickets for driving without a license.
Flores said it would take him an hour to get to work by bus or bike. Next year, if his TPS status runs out, he’ll have no choice but to drive without a valid license.
"It’s a basic tool for people that live in this area," he said. "Everyone uses a car here."
Lawmakers in Albany are considering a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license. The measure appears to have enough support to pass the Assembly, but several state senators from Long Island haven't said if they'll support it.
Immigrants and their advocates said Long Island is where they need a car the most — especially those with children who need to travel by car for basic errands, doctors' appointments, or doing the laundry.
"Without a car I am nothing, I am nobody," said Maria, in Spanish, who only agreed to be interviewed if her true name was not revealed.
She came to the United States illegally in 2001. She earns money doing laundry and house cleaning around Hampton Bays, and supports three children who she has to drive to school, the doctor, and grocery shopping.
Maria said she can’t rely on the bus because it stops running at night, and if she’s offered extra hours at work, she has to take them.
Driving a car, she said, means driving in fear.
"Fear that I’m going to be stopped for another ticket, and what do I say?"
The penalty for driving without a license in New York can be as much as $300 and up to 15 days in jail.
One of Maria’s boys has special needs and frequent doctor appointments an hour’s drive away. When asked what she thinks about while driving, Maria sobbed quietly and then lifted a finger to point toward a portrait of the Virgin Mary hanging on the wall.
"I remember her," she said, "and God."
Maria also said she’s confused, because she knows Americans need immigrants to work, so why won’t they let her drive?
"I know they need those who work, just as we need something to eat and live."
Opponents of the bill have cited security and law enforcement concerns. The State Troopers union said it wants to ensure they have access to DMV records. County clerks said they aren’t capable of verifying identification documents from foreign countries.
A report by the nonprofit Fiscal Policy Institute estimates some 265,000 undocumented immigrants would apply for a driver's license, if offered. New York used to, for many years, before former Governor Pataki canceled the right by executive order.
Republican lawmakers have taken a hard line against the bill, drafted and supported by Democrats, saying it will only encourage more illegal immigration.
"For example, the caravans coming up through Mexico, we just can’t have that," said Phil Boyle, a Republican Senator from Bay Shore. "We can’t have 50, 75, 100,000 people a month crossing our southern border, or any other border for that matter."
Others on eastern Long Island agreed with Boyle, but they were also conflicted.
"There’s two sides to the story. I’ve seen both sides,” said Joseph King, a retired agent for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and resident of Quogue.
On the one hand, King said he doesn’t want Long Island to be a draw for undocumented immigrants. But he also wants the roads to be safe.
"You’d have to prove you can drive a car instead of just buying a second hand car and slapping some plates on driving around," he said.
Ultimately, though, King opposes the bill, as do a majority of New Yorkers, according to a Siena poll conducted in March. Two-thirds of New Yorkers said they don't want to allow undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license.
