Senate President Pro Tempore M. Teresa Ruiz (D-29) issued the following statement celebrating the Assembly Judiciary Committee’s approval of legislation to provide driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants:

“I am incredibly grateful to see this legislation moving through the legislature. Assemblywoman Quijano has worked tirelessly on this bill and today’s vote would not have been possible without her passion and dedication to this cause. I extend my sincerest appreciation to those who voted it out of committee and I look forward to seeing the Senate Transportation Committee approve its counterpart on Thursday.”

Senator Michael Testa (R-1) issued the following statement in response to the bill moving today out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee:

“Democrats in the General Assembly are wasting their precious time and State resources to prioritize the needs of illegal immigrants, while legal residents are struggling every day to stay in the Garden State,” said Testa (R-1). “Will illegals have to jump through hoops to show their ‘6 points of ID’ at the MVC like the rest of us? Democrats need to get their priorities straight. We need to get to work on fixing real issues, like lowering our state’s sky-high property taxes to make New Jersey more affordable for hardworking families.”

Testa slammed the approval of A-4743, which would create a second tier of driver’s licenses for those who are unable to prove lawful presence in the United States.

“Handing out drivers licenses to those who crossed our border or overstayed their visa is a slap in the face to all who immigrated legally to the United States,” added Testa. “We need to stop rewarding those who broke the law, and start taking fiscally prudent measures to make sure our children and their grandparents can afford to stay in New Jersey.”