Massachusetts residents have voted to uphold a law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The measure passed by slim margins Wednesday.
Sen. Adam Gomez, D- Springfield, was one of several lawmakers who originally filed the bill to the state senate. He said the numbers speak for themselves.
"(There is) still a lot more work and education to prove to people that this was the right piece of legislation to pass," he said. "This is the right way to go for Massachusetts, in communities all over the state that have immigrants, migrants, you know, and give them the ability to make sure that our roads are safe."
About 54% of voters supported the measure, a close split with the 46% that did not, according to Associated Press results.
Gomez said granting undocumented immigrants access to driver's licenses will make it easier for many people to get to and from work to support their families.
"We have pockets of immigrant communities that (are part of) a tremendous workforce and we don't have that ability with the transportation infrastructure in western Massachusetts," he said. "We have a lot of individuals that work on the farms and individuals that work in the hospitality industry. People that own businesses...We have individuals that want to have the proper channels to be able to thrive and be in a vehicle (that is) licensed and registered. I think that's the most important piece to this."
While opponents said there is no evidence that roads would be safer and that there could be potential voter fraud caused by issuing the licenses, Gomez said other states have achieved this successfully.
"This wasn't something that Massachusetts spearheaded. We're the 17th state where this has been passed. And in 16 other states, it was a bipartisan bill. We're very proud to say that question four passed," he said.
Gomez said undocumented immigrants who don't have driver's licenses can submit alternative forms of identification at the Registry of Motor Vehicles in order to apply for a driver's license starting in July 2023.
