Advocates say that allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses would make roads safer for all motorists, but opponents argue such legislation would reward people for entering the country illegally.
The House passed legislation Wednesday that opens a pathway for some undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in Massachusetts, a move advocates say would make roads safer for all motorists and opponents argue rewards people for entering the country illegally.
"The governor said — and I'll quote him because the words meant a lot to me at the time. I've read them a lot and they formed, as I said, the touchstone in the primary documents security provision presented to you and I think is basically why it merits your support today — Governor Baker said, 'My problem with giving licenses to people who are undocumented is just that, there's no documentation to back up the fact that they are who they say they are,'" Straus said.
Rep. Timothy Whelan , a former state police sergeant, said the bill"isn't a slam-dunk in the world of law enforcement by any measure." He said many in that realm have"serious concerns" when it comes to the validity of a person's documentation. The governor reiterated his support for"the current position" and said that while he tends to be cautious about commenting about legislation that hasn't been finalized,"we've made our position pretty clear that we're pretty happy with where we are."
"But it does confuse the matter a little bit, because what it means is they don't have federal status," Farley-Bouvier said."They have documents. They have documents, and indeed, to be very clear, if they don't have the documents outlined in this legislation, they cannot apply for a driver's license."
Straus, speaking in opposition to the amendment, said a driver's license will never be an indication of voter eligibility.
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