What finally put undocumented immigrant driver’s license bill in play? 

THE FIRST TIME a bill was proposed in Massachusetts to let immigrants without legal status obtain a driver’s license was in 2003. Since then, bills have regularly been introduced, languished in committee, and quietly been disposed of. 

In February, the Massachusetts House for the first time passed a bill that would let this population get driver’s licenses, and the Senate is poised to follow suit on Thursday. While the legislation still faces procedural challenges, including getting a signature from a skeptical Republican governor, Charlie Baker, Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate, so the bill has a reasonable chance at becoming law. That raises the question of what exactly has changed over the last two decades. 

Read more

Source – CommonWealth Magazine