Jersey City’s Pinoy-led city council backs driver licenses for state’s undocumented

JERSEY CITY, NJ – The City Council of Jersey City, led by Fil-Am president Rolando Lavarro unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday to support a state bill that grants driver’s license to the undocumented.

Jersey City is the eighth municipality in New Jersey to do so.

“We want to be able to make it possible for all of those Jersey City residents, undocumented or otherwise, to be able to have access to the American Dream. And a driver’s license is like a basic requisite in today’s day and age, to be able to drive, to be able go to work,” Lavarro said.

Legislation for New Jersey driver’s license program for the undocumented has been proposed in the past, but failed.

But Lavarro says the new bill pending in the State Assembly focuses on public safety – licensing and insuring undocumented immigrants will make sure their driving skills are tested and their vehicles are up to safety standards.

He said, “Statistics show there are half a million uninsured drivers. One out of every five fatalities and vehicular fatalities involve an uninsured driver, and so to be able to get driver’s license will increase the number of insured.”

Lavarro says the state’s economy would also benefit because the measure is projected to pump in more than $200 million in state revenue due to an expected mass buying of new vehicles and driver’s insurance.

In Texas, Obama’s executive orders on immigration are on hold primarily due to its expected $65 million cost to the state by providing driver’s license and state ID cards.

But in New Jersey, Lavarro says, this could easily be fixed.

“The legislature itself actually provides for a slightly higher fee at the outset because there’s some costs to bringing a program like this together. I believe it will cover the cost of those initial start up costs,” he said.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is against moves to issue a driver’s license to the to undocumented.

But the Filipino Immigrant and Workers Organization Project is urging Christie to sign this legislation.

They say this bill would greatly benefit Filipino workers by increasing their productivity. Instead of taking two to three hours to reach their workplace via public transportation, driving would cut their commute to 30 minutes instead.

You may contact Don Tagala at don_tagala@abs-cbn.com for more information.