LYNN — Mayor Jared Nicholson joined several other mayors and community leaders during a virtual hearing on Tuesday to speak in support of a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for state driver’s licenses.
The legislation, dubbed the Work and Family Mobility Act, passed the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Feb. 16 and now awaits action from the Senate.
In addition to Nicholson, it has the support of state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), who has signed on as a sponsor of the bill.
With more than 40 languages spoken in the Lynn Public Schools, Nicholson emphasized how people from all over the world come to the city and make it a diverse place that he is “really proud of.”
“Some of the folks here are immigrants without status and therefore can’t get a driver’s license under the current laws, and we need to fix it,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson mentioned a time during the pandemic when the district’s schools didn’t have transportation due to low staffing of bus drivers across the state, which was something he said highlighted the importance of this act.
“That was incredibly frustrating for us as a city and for those students and families and the school department,” Nicholson said. “What was particularly frustrating and unfair was that for certain families who were trying to get to school, there was this inability for them to legally obtain a driver’s license for them to lawfully get their kids to school.”
Nicholson said this is another example of why it is time to listen to the law-enforcement professionals who recognize the importance of this change and for everyone to move forward with the bill.
Nicholson gave his testimony during a session hosted by The Driving Families Forward Coalition, which has more than 270 endorsing entities for the Work and Family Mobility Act including community groups, faith groups, businesses, public officials, and labor groups.
The proposed legislation would allow all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, regardless of their immigration status.
It has also received support from Attorney General Maura Healey, the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, and the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police Association.
As of now, 16 other states have adopted a similar driver’s license bill including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
The Driving Families Forward Coalition (DFF) is working to pass the driver’s license bill through grassroots advocacy, constituent lobbying, and events like Tuesday’s online briefing.
