• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Sponsor An Email
  • Post A Job
  • Merger & Acquisition Services

Agency Checklists

Massachusetts Insurance News & Job Opportunities

You are here: Home / State House News / Report: License Law Gives “New Legitimacy” To Undocumented Immigrants

Report: License Law Gives “New Legitimacy” To Undocumented Immigrants

October 7, 2022 by State House News Service

Question 4 Analysis Also Flags Potential Tracking Tool

OCT. 6, 2022…..The new law whose ultimate fate is in the hands of voters would give undocumented immigrants “new legitimacy” in Massachusetts by allowing them to acquire driver’s licenses, and it would also create at least a slight risk of producing government records that could be used to track those in the country without legal status, a new analysis concluded.

Agency Checklists, MA Insurance News, Mass. Insurance News, Mass. RMV News, How to renew your Mass. license, Mass. insurance news
Sample Massachusetts license

Massachusetts is poised to become the 17th state in the country to open up access to licenses to residents without legal status, creating enough precedent to give state officials the tools necessary to implement the change with few hiccups, the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University wrote in a report Thursday.

While the language lawmakers enacted this year over Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto includes some safeguards, the report — which does not take a position on the repeal ballot question — warned that its supporters and the drivers it would affect cannot rule out one possible outcome of the law: a paper trail hinting at the immigration status of Bay Staters that “could be used to identify and track people in future.”

The Registry of Motor Vehicles would need to create a digital record for each applicant, and although those would not explicitly list citizenship or immigration status, they would indicate a driver’s ineligibility to vote and potentially information about foreign documents they used to verify their identity, cSPA Executive Director Evan Horowitz wrote in the report. Applicants under the law would also be ineligible for Real ID licenses, which U.S. travelers will need beginning in May 2023 to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.

Horowitz said the potential that those records could be used to identify and monitor undocumented immigrants is “hard to pin down,” but “isn’t imaginary.” He linked to an investigation from The Center for Public Integrity, which found at least seven states shared drivers’ personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since January 2020.

The Massachusetts law, which will take effect July 1, 2023 if it is preserved by the passage of Question 4, declares that the RMV’s files as well as communications between an applicant and the registry “shall neither be a public record nor be disclosed by the registrar, except as required by federal law or as authorized by regulations promulgated by the attorney general.”

“A presidential administration cracking down on unauthorized immigrants could demand RMV records as part of its effort,” Horowitz wrote. “A future Massachusetts attorney general could pursue new rules to ease access. Or, at any point, hackers could potentially infiltrate the RMV system and expose records.”

For many undocumented Bay Staters, the benefits of gaining access to a driver’s license — including possible relief from some fears that interacting with police will snowball into immigration enforcement — might outweigh those risks.

“Support for this law from many immigrants’ rights groups suggests a general comfort with the trade-off,” Horowitz wrote.

In addition to granting immigrants a legal ability to drive, acquisition of a license also provides “a new kind of official recognition — in the form of a state-issued document that affirms their identity without reference to their legal status,” the report said.

“For opponents, such formal recognition can seem inappropriate, considering that the federal government controls immigration policy and unauthorized immigrants lack the lawful authority to be in the country,” Horowitz wrote. “By contrast, supporters may count this as a step toward greater acceptance of immigrant families, making it easier to drive and also smoothing mundane interactions like presenting ID to enter a building or to purchase behind-the-counter medications.”

Opponents of the measure, who with the support of the state Republican Party quickly collected more than enough signatures to give voters a chance to annul it before it takes effect, argue that the policy could lead to illegal voter registration, particularly if RMV workers struggle to navigate the foreign documents that will be needed to confirm a driver’s identity.

Baker, himself a Republican, vetoed the law in May before Democrats muscled it through. He cautioned at the time that the RMV — which he oversees — did not have the ability to verify the identities of potential applicants and that it would “significantly” increase the risks of noncitizens registering to vote.

Nodding to other states that have implemented similar policies, the cSPA report said implementation “should be straightforward” with minimal impacts on voting. While automatic voter registration is common practice for citizens who get driver’s licenses, Horowitz said the RMV already awards licenses to people ineligible to vote, including new drivers younger than 18 and immigrants with green cards.

Horowitz also said the RMV’s staff should be able to handle the change because the “universe of acceptable documents under this law is relatively narrow.” The requirement for either a valid, unexpired foreign passport or a valid, unexpired consular identification “ensures a fairly high level of standardization,” he said.

“Many other states have already traveled this path, and with some technical tweaks and additional training the Massachusetts RMV should be able to follow,” Horowitz wrote.

The ballot question’s outcome will determine where licensing fits in the broader landscape in which undocumented immigrants can attend public schools, obtain free school meals, receive some housing
assistance, and qualify for public health services like vaccinations but are not allowed to vote, claim unemployment benefits, or participate in many federal programs like Medicaid or food stamps, the report said.

The report’s publication Thursday rounds out the center’s independent analysis of all four ballot questions voters will decide Nov. 8.

Horowitz and his team have already unpacked the risks and benefits of imposing a 4 percent surtax on personal income above $1 million (Question 1), a proposed spending requirement on dental insurers (Question 2), and the likely impacts of expanding access to alcohol licenses while reforming fines (Question 3).

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: State House News Tagged With: Agency Checklists, Mass. Insurance News, Massachusetts economic news, massachusetts insurance news, Massachusetts legislative news, New England Insurance News

Primary Sidebar

Massachusetts Division of Insurance Announcement

Sponsored

Latest Agency Sales

Gallagher Snaps Up Eastern In Sale Worth 5-Times Commissions

Salem Five Insurance Acquires Philbin Insurance Group

Salem Five Insurance Acquires Philbin Insurance Group

More Agency Sales

Career News

Fred C. Church Hires Accomplished Higher Education Risk Management Professional Damual Greaves As Client Executive, Commercial Lines

New Hampshire Insurance Department Announces Confirmation of DJ Bettencourt as Insurance Commissioner

New Hampshire Insurance Department Announces Confirmation of DJ Bettencourt as Insurance Commissioner

NAIC Now Accepting Applications for 2024 Consumer Representatives

Boston Bruins Defenseman Hampus Lindholm Joins Plymouth Rock Assurance as Brand Ambassador for 2023-24 NHL Season

Boston Bruins Defenseman Hampus Lindholm Joins Plymouth Rock Assurance as Brand Ambassador for 2023-24 NHL Season 

Charles Symington Becomes Big ‘I’ President & CEO

The Hanover Appoints Stephanie E. Seibold and Arthur J. Barrett to Key Specialty Leadership Roles

Michelle Raue, SVP & Chief Claims Officer for Preferred Mutual Insurance Company Appointed to Rise Advisory Board of Directors

Fred C. Church Announces Key Personnel Changes to its Education Team

Kaplansky Insurance Appoints Peter Kenyon as Chief Acquisition Officer

The Hanover Appoints Charles F. Hamann to President of Small Commercial

View More Career News

In Memoriam

Robert J. Barnat

In Memoriam: Robert J. Barnat, 1946-2023

In Memoriam: Bernard Gitlin

In Memoriam: Pauline R. Gifford, 1936-2023

CAR News

DOI Approves CAR’s Changes in Massachusetts Auto Insurance Claims Handling

3rd Look At The 2023 Commercial Auto Marketplace in Massachusetts

Ballot Law Campaign Opposes Industry-Backed Auto Repair Agreement

View More CAR News

Massachusetts Law Updates

Claims-Made Policy Snares Another: Preservation Trust Loses Coverage For Late Notice

Strict Construction of Claims-Made Policy Strikes Again

Agency Checklists, MA Insurance News, Mass. Insurance News

Appeal Denied: Allstate Agents’ Wrongful Termination Claim Falls Flat

A case involving two former Allstate agents allegedly misusing confidential customer data after their termination.

Harvard College Sues Zurich to Overturn A Late Notice Denial of A $15 Million Policy Claim

The Pitfall of Late Notice: Harvard’s $15 Million Coverage Loss

The lawsuit over Harvard’s admission policies discriminating against Asian-American applicants.

Agency Checklists, MA Insurance News, Mass. Insurance News, GEICO, Largest Auto Insurance Cos. in Massachusetts

GEICO Faces Legal Battle as Captive Agent’s Lawsuit Advances

A Captive Agent’s Suit Against GEICO Can Proceed on Claims of Breach of Contract, Renewal Commissions Owed, Unjust Enrichment, and Employee Misclassification

More Mass. Law Updates

DOI News

Home Insurance Report Part III: Policies by Massachusetts County

MA Homeowners’ Insurance Premiums Topped $2.8B in 2021

Massachusetts Remains The 14th Largest Insurance Marketplace As Ranked By Total Premium Volume

Facts & Figures For New England Insurance Departments & Insurance Producers | 2023

View More DOI News

Insurance Fraud

Prison For A Year-And-A-Day in $14 Million Payroll Tax and Insurance Fraud Case

Greed & Betrayal: 67-year-old Advisor Gets 4 Years For Annuity Thefts From Vulnerable Clients

Physical Therapy Assistant Sentenced in Massachusetts Auto No-Fault Insurance Fraud Scheme

Surprising Survey Results Show Many Americans Think Insurance Fraud Is Not A Crime

More Insurance Fraud News

Footer

Agency Checklists

Contact us

Advertise on Agency Checklists

We offer a variety of ways to get help promote your company or product.

Announcements
Email Sponsorships
Partnerships
Custom Collaborations

*Affiliate Disclosure

Please note that any of Agency Checklists’ articles might contain one or more affiliate links. This means that any subsequent purchase resulting from these links may result in a commission for us, but at no additional cost to you. For example, as an Amazon Associate, Agency Checklists earns a commission from all qualifying purchases. By working with affiliates we can continue to keep Agency Checklists subscription free. Thank you for your support.

SEARCH OUR SITE

Explore Our Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Agency Checklists · All rights reserved.

 

Loading Comments...