NJ driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants move closer to reality

Show Caption Hide Caption Immigrant advocates walk for driver's licenses for undocumented Supporters of a measure to give undocumented immigrants access to New Jersey driver's licenses march through Newark on Monday.

A bill that would extend state driver's licenses to immigrants without legal status and others who lack paperwork — and that had been stalled for months — is scheduled for a vote by state lawmakers next month.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing on the bill on Dec. 9, and the Senate Transportation Committee plans to hold a hearing on Dec. 12. A vote is scheduled for the full Senate on Dec. 16, according to Richard McGrath, a spokesman for Senate President Steve Sweeney.

The plan is to send the bill to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk by the end of the lame-duck session in January, McGrath said.

"We have worked exhaustively to draft a fair, comprehensive and responsible bill,'' Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, the primary sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. "I thank all of the advocates and stakeholders that have helped craft this legislation, and I look forward to hearing from all interested parties on Dec. 9.”

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, another sponsor of the bill, said he is “reasonably optimistic” that it will pass before the Legislature’s session ends in January.

Although he views it as a “no-brainer” to provide immigrants driver’s licenses, Mukherji said he anticipates pushback given the rhetoric around the issue in recent months. But he said there would be fewer protests of the bill if people would take the time to learn more about it.

“This bill is not just about affording dignity to New Jersey’s immigrant families, even though it does that, and it’s not just because states much redder than ours have already done this,” said Mukherjji, D-Hudson. “Fundamentally this bill is about public safety.”

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In New Jersey, state lawmakers introduced the latest version of the bill last November. It would, in part, allow immigrants without legal status, certain senior citizens and others who lack documentation to get a license that could be used only for driving, and not for other purposes.

Murphy, a Democrat, has said he would sign it into law if it reaches his desk.

Critics of the bill have said the measure prioritizes immigrants without legal status above everyone else. Proponents argue that extending driving privileges to immigrants without lawful status would increase public safety and bolster the state's economy, because those who would receive the licenses would buy car insurance, vehicles, gasoline and auto parts.

The top Republican in the Assembly, Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, didn't respond to emails seeking comment on Monday. State Sen. Mike Doherty, a Warren County Republican, called the proposal outrageous and said Democrats' only motivation was to increase their voter base. Extending driving privileges will also attract more undocumented immigrants to the state, he added.

"“It’s an insult to law abiding citizens, people who do things correctly,’’ he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “You have individuals who are clearly violating federal law and you are going to reward them by allowing them to obtain driver’s licenses and it is simply wrong and shouldn’t happen.”

Immigrant advocates say that each time undocumented people in New Jersey drive without a state driver's license, they risk the possibility of being ticketed, detained and even transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which can deport them and separate them from their families.

Antonio Escobar, 27, of Morris County said he would be among the New Jersey residents who would be able to obtain a license under the proposal. Escobar, who was born in Mexico, said because he is unable to drive now, he hasn't been able to apply for jobs that are not near public transportation stops, and as a musician, he has to depend on other people to get to rehearsals and gigs and to his daytime job at a warehouse.

Escobar, a volunteer for the Wind of the Spirit, said he was cautiously optimistic that the bill would become law, saying he's afraid of being let down if it doesn't pass.

"Christmas is coming, and I'd like to be able to get my Christmas tree and do some apple picking and pumpkin picking,'' Escobar said. "And it's not just me, but a lot of kids are not enjoying these things because their parents cannot drive ... there are a lot of things we are missing out on because we are unable to drive."

A separate group of immigrant families and their allies blocked the entrance to the Statehouse on Monday morning in an act of civil disobedience, calling on legislators to pass the pending legislation. Five people were arrested, according to a statement from the group that organized the action, known as Movimiento Cosecha, which translates into "the Harvest Movement." But when they heard that a hearing had been scheduled, they cheered, organizers said.

“A driver’s license is not a luxury, it’s a basic necessity,” said Candido Osorio, who is a spokesman for Movimiento Cosecha.

Osorio, 33, who was born in Mexico and now lives in New Brunswick, said he is unable to drive because he doesn't have legal status and that the bill would be welcome in his household. Osorio, who arrived in the United States at the age of 15, currently works in construction, and he said he has had to decline some jobs because he's unable to drive to work sites.

"I don't have a license, and I don't want to drive without a license,'' Osorio said, noting that sometimes in the winter he has to grab a cab to take his four children to school. "This will benefit my family tremendously if this passes.

"We have faith that we will achieve this victory,'' he added. "All that has happened is thanks to the community who have gone to the streets and pushed for this."

New Jersey is home to an estimated 450,000 undocumented immigrants, and, according to estimates from New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank, 338,000 New Jersey residents would obtain driver's licenses during the first three years if the measure is adopted and signed into law. That number includes about 220,000 undocumented immigrants along with low-income residents and those formerly incarcerated and reentering society, said Erika Nava, a policy analyst for the organization.

The bill is expected to generate $21 million in revenue from permit, title and driver's license fees in the first three years, according to an analysis by the group.

Once the legislation is fully implemented, new drivers would generate $90 million annually from registration fees, the gas tax, and the sales tax on purchases of such items as auto parts, according to the analysis.

Despite those benefits, fraud has also been an issue in at least some states that have extended privileges.

In Vermont, state residents who don’t have permission to live in the country can apply for a form of identification called a driving privilege card. Since Vermont began issuing them in 2014, its Department of Motor Vehicles has found that residents from other states have applied for and received licenses that have had to be canceled.

In Maryland, which also started issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards to undocumented immigrants in 2014, an audit of the Motor Vehicle Administration later found that 826 driver’s licenses and identification cards had been issued in a six-month period to people who had presented counterfeit documentation.

As a result of an internal investigation, 270 fraudulent licenses were canceled.

Monsy Alvarado is the immigration reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news about one of the hottest issues in our state and country, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com Twitter: @monsyalvarado