Proponents of allowing unauthorized immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses received a boost this week when state Senate President Stephen Sweeney endorsed the idea, increasing the chances that New Jersey will become the 13th state to allow immigrants without legal status to drive.

“You have a lot of people driving that aren’t insured,” Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said in an interview Wednesday night on NJ 101.5. “And they’re going to be driving whether we like it or not. They’re on our roads. They’re working at different places. So it’s something that we’re going to have to address. We just got to figure out how we do it in the right way.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, campaigned in support of the policy last year and affirmed more recently that his administration is “all in” on the concept.

But turning a campaign pledge into law requires the cooperation of the Legislature, especially Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, who control what bills get voted on in their respective chambers.

A spokeswoman for Coughlin did not immediately respond to a message Thursday asking whether the speaker supports the idea.

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Undocumented immigrants and their allies in recent months have dialed up the pressure on policymakers to act, fanning out across the state in May to collect supportive signatures and staging a 300-mile march across the state the following month.

They say that having access to driver’s licenses would make it easier for unauthorized immigrants to get to work, reduce fear during interactions with police and cut down on the use of illegal means to obtain licenses.

Proponents also argue that expanding who can receive driver’s licenses would make New Jersey's roads safer by requiring newly licensed drivers to be tested, trained and insured, and help the state's economy by growing the number of customers who could purchase automobiles and car insurance.

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But critics argue that giving licenses to undocumented immigrants rewards lawbreakers and leads to fraud and security concerns.

A recent audit of such a program in Maryland, for example, found that hundreds of drivers had presented counterfeit documentation to obtain driver's licenses and identification cards. The state’s Motor Vehicle Administration canceled more than 1,200 licenses for residency fraud last year.

Sweeney did not reference specific legislation Wednesday night, but the bill at the center of the debate is known as the New Jersey Safe and Responsible Driver Act. It would allow qualified drivers to obtain a license without proof of their lawful presence in the United States.

The way the bill reads now, the driver's licenses could be used only to drive, and not to purchase firearms, access commercial flights or enter federal buildings.

It would also apply to the homeless, veterans and other populations that may be unlikely to have the documents to meet the requirements to obtain a New Jersey license under the Motor Vehicle Commission's Six-Point ID Verification Program.

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D-Union, a primary sponsor of the measure, said earlier this year that she was updating the bill to address the concerns about residency requirements and the potential for fraud. Quijano could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

Sweeney on Wednesday did not dwell on the details of any proposal. “It would be better to find a system that allows someone to drive in a legal way that doesn’t hamper our ability to keep ourselves safe,” he said.

Nonetheless, Janet Caicedo, a member of Make the Road New Jersey, an organization that lobbies for immigrant rights, said Wednesday that she was encouraged by Sweeney’s comments.

"We are heartened by Senate President Sweeney's support of expanding access to driver’s licenses to immigrant drivers in New Jersey,” Caicedo said. “Access to driver’s licenses protects our families, makes our roads safer and will support our economy as hundreds of thousands of new qualified drivers obtain licenses, buy cars and make insurance payments.”

A January study by New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank, found that the proposal could benefit about 466,000 undocumented immigrants in the state, and that half of those who are eligible would receive a license within three years.

Staff Writer Monsy Alvarado contributed to this article.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com