Massachusetts voters endorsed a law passed earlier this year that allows immigrants without legal status in the U.S. to obtain driver’s licenses.
The “Work and Family Mobility Act” will take effect in July of next year. Organizers estimate that thousands of newly qualified drivers will be able to apply for licenses in the following months.
With this, Massachusetts joins 16 other states and Washington, D.C., in adopting this type of law. The Pew Research Center estimates that there are about 250,000 undocumented immigrants living in the state.
Opponents of the new law placed the issue on the ballot in an effort to overturn it. Fair and Secure Massachusetts, the group leading the opposition, argued that the law would encourage more illegal immigration.
On the other hand, supporters of the law argue that roads are safer for everyone when more drivers are properly educated to drive and insured. They pointed to data showing that pedestrian accidents decreased in California and Connecticut after lawmakers passed similar measures.
The referendum was just the latest hurdle in the effort to license undocumented immigrants in the state. The measure lingered in the state legislature for years before Democrats approved it this summer. The threat of a veto from Republican Governor Charlie Baker was overridden by lawmakers, who managed to pass the bill with enough votes to do so.