Democratic stronghold New York State passed a law on Monday that allows undocumented migrants to obtain their driver’s licenses, a controversial measure intended to thwart the Trump administration’s restrictive migration policy.
This law “will not only provide illegals with a legal means of obtaining a driving license, it will have a positive impact on economic growth, road safety, and will help to maintain the cohesion of families” declared one of its principal craftsmen, Democratic Senator Luis Sepulveda, in a statement.
“While immigrants have become scapegoats for all the ills of our country, New York State has the opportunity to show its courage and strength, and support marginalized communities,” added this elected representative of the neighborhood. New Yorker from the Bronx.
In practice, the text, adopted by the lower house of Parliament in New York last week and signed Monday evening by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, allows the issuance of a driver’s license to anyone who passes the exam, regardless of its migratory status.
Applicants will no longer need to present a valid U.S. Social Security number or visa, as has been the case since 2001, and will be able to simply present a valid passport or foreign driver’s license as evidence. identity.
Several provisions of the text, welcomed by associations for the defense of migrants, also prohibit communicating the data provided by candidates to the migration authorities, except at the express request of a judge.
The text was hotly debated, and validated in the two houses of the Parliament of the State of New York – both acquired to the Democrats since January – by a narrow majority.
Republican Senator Jim Tedisco notably lamented, in a tweet, that the text “sends the wrong message that citizenship and the rule of law do not count.”
“If we do not respect the legal system to become (American) citizens, New York will become a magnet for those who are here illegally,” he said.
President Donald Trump has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority, and testimonies of road checks leading to the arrest of illegals by the ICE migration police have multiplied in recent months.
The State of New York thus becomes the 13th American state to authorize the issuance of driving licenses to illegal immigrants.
A report from February indicated that if such a law was passed in New York, more than 400,000 illegal immigrants could apply for the permit.
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