New Jersey became the 15th state to expand driver’s licenses to residents regardless of immigration status, following Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature on Thursday. In a video shared by immigrant rights advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, a cheer of, “Sí se pudo,” or, “Yes, it can be done,” could be heard just a moment before Murphy held up the signed bill to cheers from the packed room.
It’s been a victory long in the making for immigrant families and advocates in the state. Following the bill’s passage in the state legislature earlier this week, Make the Road member Margarita Rodriguez told NorthJersey.com that she’d lost track of all the sleep she skipped to go to Trenton to lobby after work. This victory means that because she’ll now be able to drive legally, she and her child, who requires regular medical visits to a specialist, will no longer have to spend hours on the bus.
Advocates during the bill’s signing on Thursday took time to acknowledge the work of community members, like Margarita, who made driver’s licenses a reality. “This campaign wouldn’t have been possible without people losing sleep, without calls being made to legislators, without petitions being collected, without marching in the weather,” members of faith-based immigrant rights group Wind of the Spirit told the boisterous room in Spanish and English.
Immigrant families made similar history next door in New York just days ago, when new law restoring driver’s license access to undocumented residents went into effect. “It will mean finally being able to drive our kids to school and the doctor and driving ourselves to work, without fear of being stopped by the police and having our family torn apart by Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” New Yorkers Sylvia and Jorge Garcia wrote in a New York Daily News op-ed.
“I want to also thank Gov. Phil Murphy,” the speakers in back New Jersey continued to even bigger cheers on Thursday, “and thank him in the name of millions of people in the state for making licenses a part of his platform, as a leader of this great state.” The speakers went on to say that driver’s licenses will be “a relief to working people, to humble people, to people who struggle to survive.”
As advocates, state leaders, and studies have noted, legislation passed in states like New Jersey and New York goes beyond allowing undocumented residents to drive legally. States that have expanded access have seen their roads become safer for all. "The fact is that in those states, roads are safer, hit-and-runs are down, the number of uninsured drivers dropped dramatically, insurance premiums got cheaper, and immigrant communities contributed greatly to the economy," New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in a Times-Union op-ed earlier this year.
Hundreds of immigrant families and advocates gathered to watch Gov. Murphy sign the legislation into law on Thursday and make history.
"Expanding access to driver's licenses is critical for the safety of New Jerseyans and a step toward building a stronger and fairer New Jersey for all," Gov. Murphy said, according to NBC New York.