Bill allowing driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants in Michigan runs into problems

LANSING, Mich. — A bill to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license in Michigan failed to advance Thursday in the Republican-controlled state House.

The vote has been long sought by advocates, who have argued the prohibition on licenses for undocumented immigrants has pushed them to drive illegally and unsafely if they want to get to and from work, school or daily living activities. The Drive SAFE package has been circulating for close to a decade in the Michigan Legislature without a chamber vote on the matter.

The bill failed in the House 39-64 vote, but served the political function of putting Democrats on record on where they stood on the policy after a 2024 election cycle in which Republicans focused their political messaging on illegal immigration concerns.

Democratic former House Speaker Joe Tate of Detroit did not hold a vote on similar legislation last session when he was in power, only to be the lead sponsor of the three-bill package this session. It was Tate's bill that was put up for a vote on Thursday by Republican House Speaker Matt Hall of Richland Township.

Tate, in a floor speech that was eventually cut off, said the timing of the vote was nothing more than a "political ploy" on a topic that affects real people. Still, Tate defended the legislation and voted in favor of the bill.

"I am an imperfect man of faith and, growing up in the church, one of the things we learned about was about compassion and justice for one another," Tate said in support of his bill.

Six Democrats joined all 58 Republicans in voting against the bill. Seven other Democratic members were absent.

The Democrats who joined Republicans in voting against the bill were state Reps. Jasper Martus of Flushing, Denise Mentzer of Mount Clemens, Reggie Miller of Van Buren Township, Amos O'Neal of Saginaw, Angela Witwer of Delta Township and Mai Xiong of Warren.

Democrats absent Thursday from House session were Reps. Kelly Breen of Novi, Kimberly Edwards of Eastpointe, Peter Herzberg of Westland, Tullio Liberati of Allen Park, Cynthia Neeley of Flint, Will Snyder of Muskegon and Karen Whitsett of Detroit.

It is unusual for a House speaker to put a bill up for a vote that is destined to fail.

But Hall said Thursday he wanted to "let Democrats make their argument for why they introduced this bill to give illegal aliens driver's licenses, something that is very unpopular in Michigan."

"(Tate) gets up there and he gives a speech about why we're doing this?" Hall said of Tate. "Well, why did you introduce it?"

Advocates of the policy called the situation that unfolded Thursday in the House “incredibly disappointing” and an example of migrants being used as “scapegoats.”

“To see this bill moved forward to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment was really heartbreaking,” said Maria Ibarra-Frayre, co-executive director for We the People Michigan, a group that leads a coalition in support of the Drive SAFE legislation.

Between inaction last session with a Democratic trifecta and the vote breakdown Thursday, there is “a lot of frustration” within immigrant communities with elected lawmakers, said Ibarra-Frayre.

“I think this could have been avoided,” she said of Thursday’s vote, “if Democrats would have had the political courage to put this up for a vote last year.”

Thursday's vote put Democrats in vulnerable or split districts in a complicated spot where they would have to put their position on the record, where it can be used against them in campaigns by one side of the argument or the other — a scenario Tate appeared to be trying to avoid last year when he wouldn't put the bill up for a vote and endanger his members' reelection chances.

"If I were these activists, I would be saying something to the Democrats," Hall said. "You look at this, they don't even have enough Democrats to pass it."

The legislation would remove citizenship and legal immigration status as requirements for obtaining a driver’s license. Instead, residency would be determined through “a settled or permanent home with the intention of remaining in this state," according to the legislation.

The bill also bars the secretary of state from giving a list of information related to those licensees to federal authorities if it is for “the purposes of immigration enforcement.”

Republicans denounced the bill before the vote Thursday, arguing it reward illegal behavior and complicate the voter registration process, which is closely tied to driver's license applications.

"This bill would reward that bad behavior by giving them an official document that would allow them to apply for government services, get on an airplane and participate in every aspect of life in our society," said state Rep. Joe Aragona, R-Clinton Township.

Tate’s refusal to put the bill up on the board last session caused some dissent within the Democratic caucus, with one lawmaker threatening to boycott session until it was put up for a vote.

But Democrats criticized the timing of the vote Thursday as political theater, noting if Hall were really serious about holding a vote on the policy he would have called for a vote on the other two bills in the legislative package.

"Doesn't it seem unserious that they didn't discharge the whole package?" asked state Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor. "If you're serious about the topic, discharge the whole damn package."

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