Dominican-American author Junot Diaz to join hundreds of immigrants lobbying in Boston
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 10: Writer Junot Diaz attends the Jersey Boys: David Chase, Junot Diaz, And Sam Lipsyte Moderated By David Remnick during The New Yorker Festival 2014 on October 10, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for The New Yorker Festival) (2014 Getty Images)
Hundreds of immigrants and their supporters are planning to descend on Beacon Hill to press lawmakers on key issues.
Monday's Statehouse lobbying day is being organized by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Junot Diaz, a Dominican American writer, is among the day's speakers. Diaz, currently a professor at MIT, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in 2008.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Immigrant activists are seeking, among other things, a bill banning the registrar of motor vehicles from denying driver's licenses to Massachusetts residents based on their inability to provide a social security number or evidence of immigration status.
Advocates are also pushing for a bill barring police from holding all but the most serious criminals until federal immigration agents can take them into custody.