Michelle Pegas arrived in the United States four years ago. He says he is passionate about New Hampshire, its government and institutions. When he learned the Nashua Police Department was offering a class about traffic safety, he quickly signed up with his wife.
“I want to help other people learn about New Hampshire’s laws,” he said.
Pegas was one of about 30 local Brazilians who participated in the course at the Arlington Community Center this Saturday, eager to learn more about the work the police are doing in their community.
This weekend’s class is part of a pilot program by the Nashua Police Department created to engage low-income, senior, immigrant, youth and hearing-impaired populations. The agency is using a $20,000 grant from the New Hampshire Department of Safety toward those efforts.
To find potential attendees for this weekend's class, the police partnered with Nashua’s Division of Public Health and Community Services and mostly relied on word of mouth. Lisa Vasques, who works as a behavioral health strategist with the division, says they have created other social spaces, such as a monthly gathering at the center.
“The way that we get to trust the authorities is by building community,” she told the group on Saturday.
To make sure the class was accessible to those who didn’t speak English, the city brought in a Portuguese interpreter and a Spanish interpreter. Officer Eliandro Hidalgo said this kind of language access is important for building community trust.
“[Immigrants] will trust more a person who speaks Spanish,” said Hidalgo, who is from the Dominican Republic. “They need someone to understand them and make them feel secure.”
Nashua Police Officer Kevin Pucillo, who led this weekend’s class, said the department currently has five officers of immigrant background out of 164 officers total.
Pucillo said the department has heard from people who are concerned about how police officers will react when they don’t have immigration documents and thus will not have a driver’s license. Some attendees at Saturday’s class said many people fear deportation.
“We are not going to take that enforcement action [deportation]," Pucillo said. "That is not our priority.”
Local immigration advocates have praised efforts by the police in Nashua, as well as Manchester, to take a more cooperative approach when dealing with people who are undocumented. They said the agencies have taken the time to understand the concerns of local immigrants and advocates.
Another attendee, Aguinaldo Sandana, said he drove without a driver's license for two years before becoming a U.S. citizen. He hopes New Hampshire passes a law like the one passed in Massachusetts, which is meant to offer undocumented immigrants a path to obtain driver's licenses. That law is set to go into effect in July.
“I used to fear the police, so I worry about the people who live this daily,” Sandana said.
In New Hampshire, lawmakers consideredthree proposals about driver’s licenses for undocumented people last year, but none of those measures passed. Democratic Rep. Georges Sykes issponsoring a similar proposal again this legislative session.
Mara Lessard, who works for the Division of Public Health of Nashua, said many people miss important appointments because they don’t have IDs. She encouraged the community to work together and voice their opinions on this issue at the State House.
“People may not understand, but it is such a benefit for the community,” she said.
