by MIKE CATALINI Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers passed legislation Monday to allow immigrants who cannot prove they're in the country legally get driver's licenses.
The Democrat-led Assembly and Senate passed the measure after lawmakers delayed considering the bill until after last month's election. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said he supports.
Thirteen states, including Delaware and New York, and the District of Columbia permit immigrants without legal status to obtain drivers licenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A 2018 study from New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive think tank, estimated about nearly 500,000 residents without documentation are of driving age in New Jersey.
The legislation sets up a two-tiered driver's license system. One license would conform to federal REAL ID requirements that include proof of legal residency. Another license would permit people without a legal status to obtain a license.
The bill has gotten vocal support from immigrants rights groups, who lined the corridors of the statehouse and cheered loudly when the measure passed.
Panel after panel of witnesses supported the bill when it was in committee this year.
They say the measure could increase safety because many immigrants without legal documentation already drive without licenses and insurance. They also argue that obtaining a license would help people work and provide for their loved ones.
Among the supporters is Motor Vehicles Commissioner Sue Fulton, who cited a study by AAA that indicated unlicensed drivers were more likely to flee the scene of an accident than those with licenses.
"In my view our roads are safer when our drivers are trained, tested licensed and insured," Fulton said this month.
Opponents worry the measure rewards people for breaking the law and could lead to voter fraud because voter registration occurs when obtaining a license.
"So you're accommodating people who broke the law," Republican Assemblyman Erik Peterson, who voted against the legislation, said in an opening round of questions to Fulton.
Fulton responded that the bill was about increasing safety.
Immigration Legal Services At CSU
Editor’s Note: Twenty-two CSU campuses are offering immigration legal services for the school’s thousands of undocumented students, as well as its undocumented employees.
California State University (CSU) announced a systemwide plan for the provision of immigration legal services for CSU students and employees. “I am delighted that we will be able to increase the availability of immigration legal services to the California State University community. We remain committed to ensuring that all CSU students have the opportunity to pursue their higher education goals regardless of their country of origin. This inclusive foundation extends to our employees, who demonstrate their dedication to student achievement and success on a daily basis,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. “These thousands of Californians are pursuing their dreams for a better future every day on CSU campuses. The expanded services and resources that will soon be available will bring support, legal guidance and some peace of mind to enable our students and employees to focus on academic and professional pursuits.”
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Hispanic National Bar Association
Jennifer Salinas, Esq. asked a room full of high school students interested in the law to close their eyes and conjure up the image of a lawyer. “Then I said to them, ‘I suspect that many of you saw a white man.’ They all (nodded) their heads yes,” she says. “We hope to change that so you see people of all different races and ethnicities.” For the duration of her presidency at the Hispanic National Bar Association, which wrapped on September 28, Salinas offered programs, held symposia and ran campaigns, all in the name of attracting more Hispanics to the profession to which she’s dedicated her life. One of those campaigns challenged Hispanic youth to imagine a different type of lawyer. It was called This is What a Lawyer Looks Like. “(We) would wear T-shirts that actually had that on the front. We’d go into heavily populated Latino schools and these kids were amazed. They’d say, ‘You’re a lawyer? You don’t look like a lawyer.’ And that’s kind of the point,” says Salinas. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law is one of the least racially diverse professions in the nation. Hispanics comprise just 4.8% of U.S. lawyers, and Latinas are less than 2% of that.
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A Voice At The Table
In 1850, Jose Angel Navarro graduated as the first Latino alumnus of Harvard Law School. According to historian Dr. Daniel Coquillette, author of “On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century,” Navarro returned to San Antonio after graduation and advocated for the downtrodden and exploited in Texas. He served on the San Antonio City Council, as a district attorney and city attorney in Laredo and, at 29, was elected to the Texas Legislature. He is widely credited with removing the word “white” from the new Texas Constitution’s voting requirements. In 1876, he was gunned down on Laredo’s main street. Coquillette cites how Navarro died a martyr’s death and deserves broad recognition and honor.
Trailblazing Influence
Giving Navaro that recognition and honor is exactly what current Latino alumni had in mind when they started contemplating a group gift to Harvard Law School (HLS). Every five years, an all-classes reunion known as the HLS “Celebration of Latino Alumni” (CLA) is held. Members organize the self-funded, 4-day event on campus. “Alumni had been talking about doing something for Latino students,” says Ricardo Anzaldua, JD ‘90, who served as a CLA chair.
The Dangers of Being ‘Under the Influence’
Imagine that you’re young and pregnant and more than a little anxious about the changes you are experiencing. And then “morning sickness” rears its ugly head. Looking for advice, you have a few choices: consult your Doctor, seek out an online Doctor for help, or see what Kim Kardashian says on Instagram and Twitter. As ridiculous as it sounds, Kim Kardashian was the “expert” of choice for many 18- to 24-year-olds. When she endorsed the Duchesnay Inc., drug Diclegis (used for morning sickness) online nearly a half of million people “liked” it. Kardashian is one of high profile “influencers” Big Pharma and other companies are recruiting to push their products. Product endorsements via social media by YouTube and celebrity influencers, the term used for social media product advocates, have always been powerful in the direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription and over-the-counter drugs. But social media has changed the rules of the road. While TV and print advertising is heavily regulated and must include risk factors and side effects, the same restrictions, which companies find onerous, are not yet in place for social media influencers. But the times, they are changing.
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The Gift Of Cancer
Imagine finding a job where you not only earned more than enough to take care of yourself and your family, but also found success and fulfillment while bringing joy to others. Now imagine suddenly being diagnosed with a disease that even if you survive it could take away your ability to do that job. This is what faced voice actor Rob Paulsen when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Known for his work on such series as “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,” and two of the TV incarnations of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Paulsen’s resume includes such top studios as Disney and Warner Bros., such legends as Steven Spielberg and Mel Brooks, and such accolades a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. To an outsider, his career looked like it was hitting a new high with the probable reboot of “Animaniacs” on the horizon. But as he talks about in his book “Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life,” a small lump on his throat turned out to be stage III squamous cell carcinoma with occult primary, and the treatments for it could permanently damage his voice. “The irony of me getting throat cancer was inescapable,” Paulsen writes.
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