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By State Senator Pat Jehlen

Many advocates and legislators have tried for almost 20 years to allow people without legal status to receive drivers’ licenses. This would allow an estimated 200,000 people in Massachusetts to drive to work, and drive their children – many of them US citizens – to their school or doctor without fearing detention or deportation.

Credit for success this year is due to persistent and focused work by an expanded coalition, Driving Families Forward, of immigrant rights groups, unions, public safety officials, and others. Lead sponsors Representatives Christine Barber and Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Senator Brendan Crighton worked hard to make sure there were enough votes in both House and Senate to override a threatened veto by Gov. Baker. This Commonwealth article is a good account of what finally worked.

Polls are split on the issue. But opposition is often based on a lack of information. 
Everyone is safer on the roads when all drivers have been tested for vision and rules of the road. States that have passed similar legislation have found a reduction in hit-and-run crashes and uninsured drivers. Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, among police leaders, argues that licenses will allow police to identify drivers. When people learn that granting the opportunity for licenses would benefit everyone, not just immigrants, they often become supporters.

Applicants will have to provide proof of residence and identity. Under the bill, one document must be a passport or consular document and the other must be a driver’s license from another state, a foreign driver’s license, a birth certificate, a foreign national ID card, or a marriage certificate or divorce certificate from any U.S. territory. 

Getting a driver’s license will not mean immigrants without status can vote. Right now, many green card holders and other non-citizens have licenses and cannot vote. This Globe column. clearly explains why the governor is wrong to fear that the bill will enable non-citizens to vote. 

Licenses granted under this law will not be REAL IDs and can never be used to board an airplane. The law will take effect in July 2023. Before then, REAL ID will take effect in May, and no one without the more rigorous REAL ID will be allowed to board planes or enter federal buildings.