masslive.com – July 1 marks the one-year anniversary of the Work and Family Mobility Act becoming law in Massachusetts — 365 days, during which [so-called] undocumented immigrants have been able to apply for standard driver’s licenses.
What took years of grassroots organizing on the part of Driving Families Forward — a coalition of more than 270 organizations founded and co-led by the Brazilian Worker Center and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union — culminated with success in 2022.
The Legislature passed the related bill that year, but then-Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed it.
And while the House and Senate successfully overrode the veto, it was voters who gave the final say by approving a state election ballot question in November 2022.
The law went into effect on July 1, 2023, and since then, all eligible Massachusetts residents, regardless of immigration status, have been able to apply for a driver’s license by undergoing a vision screening, learner’s permit exam and subsequent road test.
Estimates peg the total number of undocumented immigrants in the state at around 250,000. When the Work and Family Mobility Act went into effect, officials at the RMV said it would enable more than 100,000 people to apply for licenses in Massachusetts for the first time.
In late December, data showed more than 90,000 learner’s permits and 50,000 licenses had been issued in the first six months after the law was enacted.
According to the most recent data provided to MassLive by the RMV, those numbers have exploded. Since July 1, 2023, 180,992 new learner’s permits (a 163% increase over 2022) and 125,775 driver’s licenses (a 133% increase over 2022) have been issued …
