State Legislature Cracking Down on Unlicensed Illegal Immigrant Drivers

As part of its $32.5 billion Fiscal Year 2013 state budget, Massachusetts legislators included an amendment that will require applicants provide a license, Social Security number, or other proof of legal residence when registering a motor vehicle, according to a press release from the Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus.

Currently, to have a license or proof of legal residency to register a car under the current law, according to the Herald. 

This amendment comes the same week that Auricelli Braga, a 32-year-old unlicensed illegal immigrant from Stoughton, was .

Braga was charged with motor-vehicle homicide, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and driving without a license following a two-car crash on Turnpike St. in Canton on June 24 .

Braga, from Brazil, is not a legal resident, according to the Boston Herald. She has been in this country illegally since 2002, the paper reports.

Even though she didn't have a license, Braga still was able to in November of 2011 since state law only requires an applicant to have a valid insurance policy.

Braga had been stopped in Brockton back in 2009 for driving without a license, and paid a $50 fine to cover court costs, the Herald reports. 

Additional amendments included in the budget target "abuses in the state’s public benefits programs" and expand "the use of immigrant status verification systems for MassHealth applicants."

There are also "increased penalties for knowingly employing an unlicensed individual as a motor vehicle operator, or an individual whose license has been suspended or revoked" and "expanded penalties for stealing, forging or counterfeiting a learner’s permit, license or ID card."

“The reforms included in the budget target two of the biggest problems we as a Caucus have been trying to address: the misuse of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards and the public safety issues raised by unlicensed drivers, including those who are in this country illegally,” State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) said in the release.  

“For too long, individuals who do not qualify for public assistance have been receiving taxpayer-funded benefits, sometimes at the expense of those who truly need help. At the same time, unlicensed drivers continue to pose a serious public safety threat to all law-abiding citizens," he continued.

"The changes approved by the House and Senate [on Thursday] will help protect those residents who choose to play by the rules while punishing those individuals who would rather manipulate the system for their own advantage.”

The budget now heads to Governor Deval Patrick, who will have 10 days to review the spending proposal and to issue any vetoes, according to the release.