Republicans force vote on bill to allow driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants

House Republican leadership forced a vote Thursday on legislation which would allow individuals residing in Michigan to obtain a drivers license, regardless of their immigration status. The bill, opposed by the Republican majority, failed to garner enough votes to pass, but Republicans forced Democrats to go on record with their stance on the measure.

House Bill 4195, introduced by Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, is part of a three bill package that would allow undocumented immigrants in Michigan to obtain drivers licenses or other forms of state identification. The proposal has previously been called the Drive SAFE legislation in prior legislative sessions.

Democrats have introduced the bills in recent sessions, but the bills never were brought up for a vote in either the House or Senate, including last term when Democrats had control of both chambers and Tate was House Speaker.

And the bills almost certainly had no chance of passing in the current session, but by fast tracking Tate’s bill out of committee and to the full House floor for a vote, Republican leadership in the House forced Democrats to decide on the legislation and put any support for the measure in public record.

HB 4195 failed to pass, with 39 votes for and 64 votes against. Six Democratic lawmakers; Jasper Martus of Flushing, Denise Mentzer of Mt. Clemens, Reggie Miller of Van Buren Township, Amos O’Neal of Saginaw, Angela Witwer of Delta Township and Mai Xiong of Warren, joined Republicans in voting against the legislation.

In a floor speech, Tate invoked his faith before saying Republican leadership was playing political games instead of focusing on issues more relevant to the House.

“I am imperfect man of faith,” Tate said. “And growing up in the church, one of the things we learned about was compassion and justice for one another. The Book of Matthew talks about how are we taking care of the least of these? How are we taking care of Michigan residents as a whole in this chamber?” Tate accused Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, of using a “political ploy” in putting the bill up for a vote before his remarks were cut off.

More: Activists ask Democrats to pass Michigan bills helping immigrants get driver’s licenses

The bill went up for a vote — Democrats did not cast votes until House Speaker Pro Tempore Rachelle Smit, R-Shelbyville, called on each Democratic lawmaker individually to cast their vote.

According to Gongwer Michigan, Hall said the bill was put up for a vote to have Democrats “make their argument for why they introduced this bill.”

Republicans, in general, have been vocal critics of illegal immigration, particularly at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. “We should not reward people who come here illegally,” said state Rep. Joe Aragona, R-Clinton Township.

Advocates for the Drive SAFE bills argue allowing individuals, regardless of documentation status, to obtain proper identification would remove barriers to things like health care, financial services and housing. Last term, the bills had support from immigrant rights groups, some business and agricultural organizations and the Michigan Catholic Conference.

Michigan has required proof of legal residency for driver’s licenses and state IDs since 2008. The state passed legislation to ban issuing identification for undocumented individuals in 2008 after Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, issued a formal opinion in 2007 saying they could not obtain driver’s licenses. Cox’s opinion reversed a 1995 opinion from former Attorney General Frank Kelley, a Democrat.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: House takes up, rejects plan to give driver’s licenses to undocumented