photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
River Vale Nj, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi the case lays out case against drivers illegal immigrants including higher car insurance, and protecting false identities.
Assembly Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to permit undocumented immigrants to receive full driver’s licenses in New Jersey. As with all bills the devil always lies in the details. While I would consider a type of driving privilege card for those who may not be here legally, this bill once again goes too far. One of my biggest issues with the bill is that just last year Governor Murphy signed into law an automatic voter registration law under which anyone and everyone who applies for a driver’s license in New Jersey automatically is registered to vote. You must pro actively exempt yourself or you are now eligible to vote in every election. All penalties for improperly registering to vote also were removed in that bill with a presumption that if you get “caught” you didn’t mean to do it (the specific language in A2014 signed into law in 2018 says “e. If a person who is not entitled to vote becomes registered to vote pursuant to this section, that person’s registration shall be presumed to have been effected with official authorization, and the person shall not be deemed to have committed a crime under 29 R.S.19:34-1). Therefore we are now potentially automatically registering to vote undocumented individuals who otherwise are prohibited from voting in our elections without real protections to prevent this. No one has given me any assurance as to how the State intends to prevent this from occurring. No language is in this bill that exempts these basic licenses from automatic registration.
Some of the additional troublesome provisions in the bill voted on today are below:
1. The bill provides that an undocumented individual who holds one of the new driver’s licenses or an identification card is now a protected class under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. An employer, landlord or governmental agency must provide the same protections to such person as a lawful citizen and the holder of a standard license or identification card is to have the same opportunity to obtain employment, accommodation, publicly assisted housing accommodation in which the person meets all qualifications for receipt of the publicly assisted housing accommodation under State or federal law, and other real property without discrimination by reason of holding or presenting a standard license or identification card.
2. Information provided by an individual who is undocumented is exempt from the government record laws. Indeed, any documents and personal information, including an
applicant’s photograph, obtained by the commission from an
applicant for a standard basic driver’s license or standard
motorcycle license shall be confidential, shall not be considered a government record pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), 39 P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), or the common law concerning access to government records, and shall not be disclosed by the commission for the purpose of investigation, arrest, citation, prosecution, or detention related to an applicant’s citizenship or immigration status without the consent of the applicant or without a valid court order or subpoena; except that the commission shall not be restricted, prohibited, or prevented from maintaining, or sending to or receiving from federal immigration authorities information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. s.1373 and 8 U.S.C. s.1644. Any person that knowingly discloses any documents or personal information in violation of this section shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
3. An insurance company is not permitted to have higher rates for an undocumented individual. In fact the law specifically prohibits insurance companies from doing so stating “No underwriting rule shall operate in such a manner as to assign a risk to a rating plan on the basis of an insured holding a standard motorcycle license or standard basic driver’s license issued pursuant to R.S.39:3-10, or standard probationary license issued pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1950, c.127 (C.39:3-13.4).” This will in all likelihood result in everyone’s rates being increased.
It is a privilege to have a driver’s license, people who do have one should appreciate it.
Up here in Canada immigrants don’t get one unless they become permanent residents and have taken the therric and practical tests.
Well United States needs to follow Canada them I’m concerned about this. It’s not fair that in New Jersey you need to show six forms of ID to get any kind of New Jersey state document for your car. The schmucks just walk in with no ID and get a license that’s bullshit. Why is it the people that follow the laws schedule screwed. No one’s been in the life of me.These illegals make me laugh they got some set of balls what are you gonna do for me.