New Bill Would Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Get Driver's Licenses In New Jersey

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Lawmakers have passed a new bill that would allow undocumented immigrants in New Jersey to get driver's licenses. The bill has to be signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy before becoming a law. Many believe Murphy, who is a Democrat, will give it his blessing. Hundreds of advocates demonstrated outside the New Jersey State House in Trenton to get the bill passed. While it was approved by both the state Senate and Assembly, it faced opposition by some Republican lawmakers who argued the bill would promote breaking the law and mark New Jersey as a sanctuary state.

An online petition with thousands of signatures against the bill is also going around. However, the passage of the bill had many Latinx immigrants and advocates celebrating outside the Senate chambers in New Jersey, chanting, "Yes we can!" and "Licenses now." "This is a big win for us," Jorge Torres, a resident of New Brunswick, told NJ.com. “We're going to take our kids to school, we're going to be able to take our families to doctor's appointments, it's going to make our lives more simple. We're very pleased.”

Supporters argue that the new law would make the roads safer in New Jersey and could even reduce auto insurance rates in the state. “Our roads are safer when our drivers are trained, tested, licensed and insured,” B. Sue Fulton, the chief administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and a supporter of the legislation, said during the committee hearing Monday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Will the bill get Governor Phil Murphy's signature and become a law? He has expressed his intention to sign it. New Jersey's bill passed after New York's new law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses went into effect on Monday, The New York Times reported, with new applicants rushing to stand in lines that stretched for blocks outside offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles.