LYNN — State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), Mayor Thomas M. McGee and Lynn Community Health Center’s Chief Executive Officer Kiame Mahaniah were some of 80 people who testified in favor of a new mobility bill during the Massachusetts Transportation Committee’s hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
Crighton is a Senate bill sponsor along with Adam Gomez (D-Springfield).
This bill is pushing to allow all residents of Massachusetts, including undocumented immigrants, the ability to earn a driver’s license.
Crighton said the bill, which was concurred by the House in March, primarily focuses on the issue of immigration, adding that the immigrant population continues to face many “difficult, yet unnecessary, challenges,” and the country currently maintains a “broken immigration system.”
“We, in the Massachusetts legislature, do not have the power to reform our federal immigration system,” Crighton said. “But we cannot wait forever for Congress to act, and we must do the right thing for our immigrant communities today.”
Keeping in mind the immigrants working in the state — raising their families and paying taxes here — Crighton said there is no reasonable or viable path to gaining citizen status and these residents should have access to a license.
As of 2016, about 185,000 undocumented immigrants reside in Massachusetts, and about one in 20 children in the state live with an undocumented immigrant.
“The trauma that these children face when their parents or loved ones are pulled over in a vehicle is extreme and inhumane,” Crighton said. “If I get pulled over, the only thing I’m really worried about is getting a ticket, (not about) whether I’ll get to see my family again.”
Sixteen states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico have all passed bills similar to this one, allowing their undocumented immigrant residents to earn a driver’s license.
As a result, hit-and-run incidents have decreased by 10 percent in California and 9 percent in Connecticut since their respective passages of a family mobility bill.
Utah saw an 80 percent decrease in uninsured drivers, but Crighton said Massachusetts has fallen behind comparatively.
McGee emphasized the relevance of this bill to the City of Lynn, which has a large immigrant population.
He said this bill provides safety in addition to opportunity for immigrant residents.
The bill specifically provides that undocumented immigrants must only prove Massachusetts residency, and be insured, in order to register for a driver’s license test.
“I want to be on record as supporting this bill… and am looking forward to the time this bill can become a law,” McGee said. “The time is now. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s important for our communities and it’s important for the Commonwealth.”
From a medical point of view, Mahaniah said undocumented immigrants will sometimes choose to avoid going to the doctor because they are scared of getting pulled over or being involved in a car accident while driving there.
“If someone has to choose between the danger presented by not having a driver’s license and being on the road versus something that’s seen, perhaps, as a preventive luxury, people tend to choose to opt out of prevention and it makes their health so much harder (to address),” Mahaniah said.
Access to health care is made more difficult without a license, according to Mahaniah, who said driving without a license is not just inconvenient, but unsafe.
Using a cellphone while driving is illegal in Massachusetts, and Mahaniah said someone who is anxious about being pulled over — and deported — faces a similar risk as someone driving with a phone in hand, because it is a “cognitive load” that distracts drivers from concentrating on the road.
“It is unfair for us to ask for people’s labor and work and to simply make life incredibly difficult and more anxiety provoking for them,” Mahaniah said. “From a health care perspective, there is no doubt that the vast majority of us are in favor of this legislation because it simply helps people have better access to care.”
This bill will be revisited in the fall.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
