April 3, 2019. In this op-ed the author discusses their support for expanding access to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. The author argues that allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses would make roads safer, strengthen trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and help immigrants integrate. Mickey Belosi, the author, also argues that in places like rural New York, a driver’s licenses is a necessity and that the 2005 REAL ID Act allows states the opportunity to develop a multi-tier driver’s license system that has already been successfully implemented in other states.

I write in support of driver’s licenses for undocumented persons in New York state. I do so because it is the sensible thing to do.

Expanding licenses would be an economic boom to the state. Expanding access will generate millions of dollars annually for New York and save motorists money. A 2017 analysis by the Fiscal Policy Institute determined that New York state and county governments would receive an estimated $57 million in combined annual revenue.

In rural New York public transportation is not an option. Driving is a necessity, not a privilege. Undocumented immigrants contribute to all facets of New York life, including financially. They pay over $1.1 billion in state and local taxes annually and are responsible for $40 billion in New York’s economic output, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Click here to read the full article from the Auburn Citizen.