Michigan Democrats make cocktails to go a priority, while immigrant demands for driver’s licenses are ignored

Last week, the Michigan Legislature went on summer recess and won’t be back until after Labor Day.

MLive reported that in the final days before going on summer break, Michigan legislators sent several pieces of legislation to the Governor’s desk. Some of those pieces of legislation have to do with teacher unions and sexual abuse protections, but one piece of legislation caught my eye – legislation that would allow for permanent sale of cocktails to go.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, bars and restaurants were able to get Michigan legislators to allow for cocktails to be sold in to go containers, allowing for alcohol sales when the industry was struggling because of the stay at home orders.

However, being that the bar and restaurant association is fairly powerful, they were able to get State Legislators to propose a permanent allowance for cocktails to be sold in to go containers, because, well, people need their alcohol. The legislation that was passed and is headed to the Governor’s desk is  Senate Bill 141. 

What I find instructive about this legislation is that it was given priority over numerous other critical issues that the Democratic Party majority claimed to support when they took power in January. Amongst those priorities were granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, which groups like Movimiento Cosecha have been fighting for since 2018.

Allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses is an extremely urgent matter, since driving without a license can get undocumented immigrants thrown in detention or worse, deported back to their country of origin. 

Senator Winnie Brinks voted for the cocktails to go bill and did the majority of those in the Michigan House and Senate. So why haven’t State Legislators passed a Driver’s Licenses for All bill? Why haven’t the Democrats in Michigan made Driver’s Licenses for All a priority for people who are at risk of arrest, detention and deportation? There is no way the people like Senator Brinks are not aware of what the undocumented immigrant community thinks about such issues, especially since they have come to her office several times since the beginning of 2023, such as the time they came to her office in late March.

In late June, 20 members of Movimiento Cosecha went to the home of Rep. Liberati to communicate the urgency of passing the proposed Driver’s Licenses for All bill, especially before the Michigan Legislature went on summer recess.

How can politicians, especially Democrats claim to represent the most marginalized in our state, communities that have urgent needs, to only turn around and vote to pass cocktails to go legislation that is only a benefit to the bar and restaurant industry? I am hard pressed to see how the Democratic majority in Lansing can claim to really give a shit about those who live in constant fear of detention and deportation.