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CLT UPDATE
Thursday, March 6, 2014
"Safe Driving Bill" for illegal aliens anything
but
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Both supporters and opponents of a bill that
would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses said
Wednesday that their approach would lead to a safer state and more
orderliness.
“A driver’s license is so we can show that
somebody is trained and competent in that endeavor,” said Rep.
Tricia Farley Bouvier, a Pittsfield Democrat who co-sponsored the
bill and said driving is more of a necessity in the rural areas
around Pittsfield. She said, “We have more than our fair share of
unlicensed drivers because they do not have the option to take
public transportation.” ...
Ted Tripp, a North Andover resident, suggested
the bill would lead to more fraud and theorized about a hypothetical
change in gun laws so that people unable to prove their immigration
status could still be licensed.
“You think this bill would make guns safer, or
citizens safer from gun violence?” Tripp asked.
State House News Service
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Safety angles touted by all sides on immigration licensing bill
A state official urged lawmakers Wednesday to
grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, attempting to revive
a long-running debate on an issue that has gained traction in other
states, but not in Massachusetts.
Celia J. Blue, head of the Registry of Motor
Vehicles, said the legislation would generate nearly $15 million in
state revenue through license fees and other charges, plus $7.5
million in renewal fees every five years.
“This legislation is about public safety, and
ensuring that the drivers on our roads have passed the tests and
have the qualifications to be safe drivers,” Blue told a legislative
committee. She predicted that the bills, filed in the House and the
Senate, would lead to fewer car accidents and more drivers with
insurance.
But Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said
the proposal would reward people who violated federal immigration
laws. He warned that granting licenses would not guarantee safer
roads.
“We are a country of laws,” Hodgson told the
committee. “If we begin to tell people that we’ll make exceptions
for any group, then we have to honestly ask ourselves, do the laws
really matter?”
Hundreds of supporters filled the hearing room
and spilled into the halls as they waited more than two hours for
the committee to consider the bills. The measures, sponsored by
Senator Patricia Jehlen and Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier,
both Democrats, would waive the requirement that applicants for a
driver’s license present aSocial Security number, the main hurdle
for immigrants here illegally.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants backed
Boston Globe photo by John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
I propose we have a new bill: An Act Relative
to Gun Safety. In this bill we would offer gun licenses to those
without a Social Security number or regardless of immigration
status. Forget the other application requirements too, like
“Have you ever used or been known by another name?” Do you think
my new bill would make guns safer? Or citizens safer from gun
violence?
The Eagle-Tribune
Thursday, February 27, 2014
A Safe Driving bill? Don't be fooled!
By Ted Tripp
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After-Action Report from the
Frontlines
By Chip Faulkner
Safe Driving Bill Hearing
H. 3285
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Want to attend a madhouse? You should have been
with me at the hearing yesterday for the bill for granting driver’s
licenses to illegal aliens.
The hearing was held at 1:00 pm in a small room
in the bowels of the Statehouse. I got there just after noon and
there were already well over 100 proponents milling around, several
grabbing for sign-up sheets to testify. There was no orderly way to
sign up, people were just pushing, shoving and bullying their way to
the sign-up table. The staffers on the Transportation Committee,
which hosted the meeting, should have been better prepared for the
crowd. In fact this meeting should have been held in Gardner
auditorium with plenty of space and have just this one bill be heard
-― instead of the 40 on the list.
Instead, incredibly, when the meeting started
over 150 people were packed into a room that holds maybe 75
comfortably. The attendees who were able to sit on the available
benches were crammed together like they were on a flight out of
Logan ― minus the peanuts. Fortunately
the court officer at the hearing gave instructions to the crowd that
no signs, cat-calling or applause would be allowed or the
perpetrator would be thrown out of the meeting room
― and by his demeanor you could see he
meant it.
Then Transportation Committee House chairman
William Straus (D-Mattapoisett) started the meeting at 1:15 by
announcing that the “Safe Driver” Bill (H.3285) would be heard last
and testimony for any of the other 39 bills on the list would be
heard first. This, of course did not sit well with the crowd
― 90% of them there for H. 3285.
There was no testimony on most of these 39 bills;
probably ten of them had someone come forward in support or
opposition. The one bill that took up the most time was
― believe it or not
― one that would give a tire a lifespan
of six years. After six years you have to get rid of it no matter
what the condition ― mint or otherwise!
Fortunately the opposition seemed to overwhelm the proponents and
hopefully this measure will go nowhere.
Finally, at 3:45 pm Chairman Straus announced
that testimony would start on H. 3285. Over the course of the next
three-plus hours (it ended around 7 pm) proponents pushed the
so-called “safety” aspect of the bill and opponents talked a lot
about the unfairness of privileges being extended to those here
illegally.
There was testimony from several of CLT's Friday
Morning Group attendees:
● Jessica Vaughan, who works for an immigration
group out of DC, pointed out that allowing driver’s licenses without
social security numbers invites fraud and may also put Massachusetts
in violation of three federal laws.
● Chuck Kuniewich, of the Hudson Republican Town
Committee, said it would make it easier for anyone to get multiple
licenses.
● Ted Tripp, Merrimack Valley Tea Party,
emphasized that criminal elements could make hay with the lax
requirements for a driver’s license. He compared this bill to a
hypothetical change in gun laws, so that people with spotty or
unknown backgrounds would still be issued a license to carry a
firearm.
● Bob Casimiro drove down from Maine to testify.
He is a member of Mainers for Sensible Immigration Policy; he was
head of a similar group in Massachusetts before he moved north
several years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t hear him speak as I had left
for home before he was called at 6 pm.
● Joyce Paul, Medford RTC, came to lend support
but had left by the time they got around to calling her name.
I was called at 5 pm. I pointed out that I had
taken two trips, one in 2012 along the Arizona southern border and
in
2013 along the Rio Grande in Texas. The borders, from my
viewpoint, were porous and mostly unprotected. The illegals, still
pouring into the country, would find Massachusetts attractive
because of this new lax driver’s license law. Illegal immigration,
already costing Massachusetts $1.8 billion annually, would skyrocket. There would be a demand for more revenues to cover this
increase. In Massachusetts, that means a demand for new or higher
taxes.
At one point in the hearing four Republican State
Representatives walked in together and all, one by one, announced
their opposition. They were Rep. O’Connell (R-Taunton), Rep. Lyons,
(R-Andover), Rep. Cole (R-Peabody), and Rep. Lombardo (R-Billerica).
Also giving excellent opposition presentations
were Bristol County Sheriff Hodgson and a Republican candidate for
Governor, Mark Fisher. At least six other people I didn’t know
testified in opposition during the five hours I was there. One
recurring theme among those who spoke was: If illegals don’t follow
the rules by the very fact they’re illegals, what makes anyone think
the rules will be followed once they get a license to drive?
The most astonishing examples of testimony came
from individuals who came to the mike with one or two others with
them. The speaker testified on behalf of the person(s) standing next
to them, who spoke no English, that they should be allowed driver’s
licenses! I’m not making this up.
After an exhausting afternoon, I got on the 6:15
pm train at South Station and patiently waited a puzzling extra 20
minutes for the train to leave the station. Finally at 6:35 an
announcement came on that the train had been delayed because of the
nearby Presidential motorcade.
Good grief . . .
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State House News Service
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Safety angles touted by all sides on immigration licensing bill
By Andy Metzger
Both supporters and opponents of a bill that would allow
undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses said Wednesday
that their approach would lead to a safer state and more
orderliness.
“A driver’s license is so we can show that somebody is trained and
competent in that endeavor,” said Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier, a
Pittsfield Democrat who co-sponsored the bill and said driving is
more of a necessity in the rural areas around Pittsfield. She said,
“We have more than our fair share of unlicensed drivers because they
do not have the option to take public transportation.”
A Transportation Committee hearing on the bill (H 3285) pitted
mostly liberal lawmakers and activists against conservative
Republicans, while Rep. John Fernandes, a Milford Democrat, said the
bill would not have prevented the death of Matthew Denice, who was
dragged to death in a car driven by an immigrant from Ecuador.
“That individual would have still been driving the street,
unlicensed and that’s part of our problem,” said Fernandes.
Ted Tripp, a North Andover resident, suggested the bill would lead
to more fraud and theorized about a hypothetical change in gun laws
so that people unable to prove their immigration status could still
be licensed.
“You think this bill would make guns safer, or citizens safer from
gun violence?” Tripp asked.
Fitchburg Police Sgt. Glenn Fossa said the lack of state
identification in communities of undocumented immigrants made
policing more precarious.
“As a police officer for 30 years, and many of those spent on the
street in minority communities, I can tell you the fear is on both
sides,” Fossa told the committee. He said, “This is at least one
step in the right direction.”
The basement committee room that housed the hours-long hearing was
too small to handle the large numbers of people, many wearing
T-shirts in support of the bill dubbed the Safe Driving Bill and
co-sponsored by Somerville Democrat Sen. Patricia Jehlen. For much
of the afternoon the hallway outside the hearing room was filled
shoulder-to-shoulder with people waiting to get in.
“To give identification to those who are illegally here allows our
ID to essentially mean nothing. It becomes a form of ID that allows
those that are illegally here to hide in society with those who are
legally here,” said Rep. Marc Lombardo, a Billerica Republican, who
said the bill would make Massachusetts a “magnet.”
Carlos Cesar, an Azorean immigrant who lives in Fall River, said
“hundreds” of his neighbors drive unlicensed and he expressed
frustration at the state of limbo.
“I have nothing against ‘deport them all’, but let’s stop playing
games. Let’s resolve this problem,” Cesar said.
“It doesn’t allow you to travel. It doesn’t allow you to get in an
airplane. It doesn’t allow you to vote. In the bill it says it will
look different, so you can’t use it for any purpose except one, and
that’s driving,” Jehlen said.
Registrar of Motor Vehicles Celia Blue said she supports the bill,
which she estimated could raise nearly $15 million in new revenue
and provide additional business to driver education schools along
with other benefits.
“More motorists would be protected from losses from unlicensed
drivers because unlicensed drivers are unable to receive insurance,”
said Blue. She said, “A safe driving bill would reduce the drain on
law enforcement and the court system.”
Under current law, people are required to either provide a Social
Security number, or a relatively recent denial notice from the
Social Security Administration as well as visa documents.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, said from conversations he
has had, he has learned immigrants are racially profiled by law
enforcement, who ask them questions, such as, “What is your Social
Security number.”
“In Massachusetts, today, there does exist among some police
officers, racial profiling,” Eldridge said. He said, “This is
happening in Massachusetts.”
Mark Fisher, the underdog vying with Charlie Baker for the
Republican gubernatorial nomination, was the first member of the
public to testify.
“Illegal immigration is illegal. When you were elected you took an
oath to uphold the law, and yet this bill is a slap in the face of
immigrants who’ve come here legally,” Fisher said. Fisher, who has
called for a more ideologically stringent Republican Party, asked
the committee to “uphold the law and do your job.”
Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson said lawbreakers would not be
affected by the legislation, and said it would send a bad message.
“For those who violate the law: It doesn’t matter,” Hodgson said. He
said, “I don’t think it’s right, nor is it consistent with what this
country was founded on.”
The Boston Globe
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants backed
By Maria Sacchetti
A state official urged lawmakers Wednesday to grant driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants, attempting to revive a long-running
debate on an issue that has gained traction in other states, but not
in Massachusetts.
Celia J. Blue, head of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, said the
legislation would generate nearly $15 million in state revenue
through license fees and other charges, plus $7.5 million in renewal
fees every five years.
“This legislation is about public safety, and ensuring that the
drivers on our roads have passed the tests and have the
qualifications to be safe drivers,” Blue told a legislative
committee. She predicted that the bills, filed in the House and the
Senate, would lead to fewer car accidents and more drivers with
insurance.
But Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said the proposal would
reward people who violated federal immigration laws. He warned that
granting licenses would not guarantee safer roads.
“We are a country of laws,” Hodgson told the committee. “If we begin
to tell people that we’ll make exceptions for any group, then we
have to honestly ask ourselves, do the laws really matter?”
Hundreds of supporters filled the hearing room and spilled into the
halls as they waited more than two hours for the committee to
consider the bills. The measures, sponsored by Senator Patricia
Jehlen and Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, both Democrats,
would waive the requirement that applicants for a driver’s license
present a Social Security number, the main hurdle for immigrants
here illegally.
Backers hope to seize on momentum generated last year when eight
states passed similar laws, including Vermont and Connecticut.
At the State House, immigrants here illegally said they must drive
because they often work odd hours or in locations where buses and
trains do not go. They also must drive to the grocery store,
doctor’s appointments, or to the hospital.
“We need it,” said Jose Manuel, a 50-year-old landscaper in Waltham
here illegally from Guatemala, said of the bill, speaking on
condition that his last name not be used.
Opponents said the measure would encourage others to come here
illegally. Opposition to the issue gathered steam after the death of
Matthew Denice, a Milford man struck and killed in 2011 allegedly by
an immigrant here illegally.
Massachusetts has debated driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
for years, but the measure has made little progress. A House panel
passed the measure in 2003, but the bill faded after Governor Mitt
Romney said he opposed it.
Governor Deval Patrick has repeatedly said he supports such driver’s
licenses, but in 2010 he said he could not act without changes in
federal law. His office did not respond to requests for comment
Wednesday.
An estimated 11 million illegal immigrants live in the United
States, say figures from the Pew Research Center, with 120,000 to
200,000 in Massachusetts in 2010. Most of them are here legally.
The Eagle-Tribune
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Letter to the editor
A Safe Driving bill? Don't be fooled!
To the editor:
On Wednesday, March 5, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on
Transportation will hold a hearing at the Statehouse on House Bill
H.3285, an Act Relative to Safe Driving. This bill, if approved by
the committee and ultimately by the Legislature and the governor,
would permit the Registry of Motor Vehicles to issue licenses to
those who are in this country illegally. It does so by changing the
language of the law on who is eligible for a license by specifying
that one cannot be denied such a license if he or she does not have
a Social Security number or “evidence of immigration status.”
This bill has nothing to do with safe driving and has everything to
do with granting privileges to people who haven’t earned them. It is
another move to reward those who have broken the rules and make life
and safety more difficult for those of us who abide by the rules.
The attainment of a drivers’ license opens many doors for a
law-abiding citizen. For instance, this form of identification
allows you to get on an airplane; it allows you to enter a federal
building; in some places it may also allow you to register to vote.
Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League
(GOAL), says it may also be helpful in obtaining a firearms license.
Do we really want to make it easier for those who are here illegally
to have all this access? Remember that the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11,
2001 carried among them over 30 state driver’s licenses and ID
cards.
Bill H.3285 also opens up the possibility of other chicanery. What
is to stop a convicted child molester or sex offender from changing
his name and then going to the registry for a new license? With the
new license in hand he could get a job anywhere, and a CORI check
would show a clean record since there would be no background
information. And if that person was stopped by the police for a
traffic violation, the police database would show a clean record
with no criminal behavior. At least with the current registry system
a Social Security number provides the police with a good chance that
the person whose name is on the license is the correct one.
While there doesn’t seem to be anything safe in this bill, the
sponsors of it argue that those who are here illegally will be able
to get licenses and then purchase insurance, thus making us all
better off and potentially safer. But history doesn’t support this.
In New Mexico, where drivers’ licenses are granted to those without
lawful status, the state has the second highest percentage of
uninsured drivers in the nation.
I also want to get back to firearms for a moment. I propose we have
a new bill: An Act Relative to Gun Safety. In this bill we would
offer gun licenses to those without a Social Security number or
regardless of immigration status. Forget the other application
requirements too, like “Have you ever used or been known by another
name?” Do you think my new bill would make guns safer? Or citizens
safer from gun violence?
The twisted logic you see in my Gun Safety Bill is the same as that
used by those who are promoting the Safe Driving Bill. Don’t be
fooled. Don’t let them get away with it. Call your legislators and
tell them to oppose H.3285.
Ted Tripp
North Andover
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
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only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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