Faith Leaders, Clerics Urge State Leadership to Prioritize Expanding Access to Driver’s Licenses

According to a release, on Oct. 16, more than 100 faith leaders sent an open letter to state legislative leaders and Gov. Murphy urging immediate action on legislation to expand access to driver’s licenses in New Jersey. 
Bills A-4743/S-3229 would expand access to more drivers who face barriers to accessing a driver’s license, including those who are formerly incarcerated, members of the LGBT community, undocumented immigrants, and survivors of domestic violence. 
The more than 100 signatories include faith leaders spanning the state from North, South, and Central New Jersey and multiple faith traditions, including Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders. 
In the letter, faith leaders urge action on the need of residents to have access to mobility through access to a driver’s license to take care of children, access medical and social services, and community life. 
For New Jersey’s immigrant communities, access to a license means being able to drive without fear of deportation and separation from family. 
Sister Kathleen McGonigle, Sisters of Saint Joseph, stated,
“Unless we are Native American, all of us are descendants of immigrants. A way to help our immigrant sisters and brothers is to pass legislation that allows them to get driver’s licenses. New Jersey is a place where it is difficult to move from place to place without a driver’s license. It would allow people to have better access to opportunities, food, medical appointments/care, and childcare.”
Rev. Charles Perez of First United Methodist Church of Dover stated,
“Driving is a basic necessity in New Jersey, especially for families with children. In Dover, without a license, parents and families are struggling to take care of basic needs and put food on the table. We must open our hearts and see the humanity in allowing mothers and fathers to properly care for their children by removing the barriers to mobility.“
Rabbi Marc Katz, Temple Ner Tamid stated,
“In New Jersey, driving is central to everything we do. The ability to get to a grocery store, take your child to the doctor, or even go to work depends on the ability to drive. However, too many people in New Jersey face barriers in accessing a driver’s license. The Jewish faith teaches us to take care of the stranger in our midst. One of the easiest ways to help is by making sure they have access to the needs of everyday life. This starts with ensuring our immigrant, formerly incarcerated, and low-income neighbors can access a basic driver’s license.”
Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, The Reformed Church of Highland Park stated,
“Our faith community is particularly committed to serving others. We go out of our way to give rides to the sick, to help people when disasters strike, to help move furniture and belongings in efforts to resettle families. Some of the most dedicated volunteers are immigrants unable to get licenses. Not only does the absence of a license prevent an individual to care for their own family, it also disrupts the ability to be a giving/serving person in the community.”
Rabbi Kerry Olitzky from North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey stated,
“Driving is about access to all that New Jersey has to offer–including the protection of all its inhabitants.”
The Letter
Dear Gov. Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin: 
As faith leaders from across the State of New Jersey, we write to urge you to prioritize the immediate passage of bill A4743/S3229 to expand access to driver’s licenses to all qualified New Jersey drivers, regardless of their immigration status. In New Jersey, driving is critical to caring for family, accessing medical and social services, getting to work, and participating in community life. 
However, hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents cannot obtain a driver’s license due to outdated and stringent requirements. This includes vulnerable populations such as immigrants without status, low-income individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals who are now re-entering society, survivors of domestic violence, homeless individuals, and senior citizens.
Our faith compels us to speak up for those who are most marginalized in our communities. The three Abrahamic religions each call on us to care for the immigrant, the exile, and the newcomer, as do other traditions. 
The Jewish tradition is clear on the treatment of immigrants. We are inspired by our faith that demands of us not just concern for the strangers in our midst, but also equal and fair treatment of them. 
Leviticus instructs us that, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (19:33-34). Exodus 12:49 makes it clear: “There shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.” 
This teaching permeates Jewish tradition and in all is stated 36 times in the Torah – the most repeated of any commandment. It reminds us of how our ancestors were treated as the stranger, even in Egypt, a land where we lived for generations, and of our responsibility towards others. 
The Christian and Muslim traditions each echo the prophetic Jewish command to care for immigrants. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus lays out this instruction among the criteria for eternal salvation: “For… I was a stranger and you welcomed me…. I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35-40). 
In the Qur’an can be found this admonition: “And those who become [refugees] for the cause of God after they had been oppressed. We verily shall give them goodly lodging in the world, and surely the reward of the hereafter is greater…” (Verse 16:41). 
We cannot remain silent amid attacks on our friends, neighbors, and family members, all of whom contribute immensely to our communities. We must fight hate for the sake of our shared values. This means fighting against family separation at both the federal and state level. 
Leaders in New Jersey can help keep families together by expanding access to licenses, a policy which would allow all immigrants to more fully participate as members of their communities and make them less vulnerable to detention and deportation every time they go to work, take a child to school or to the doctor, or attend a worship service. 
Fourteen states and Washington, D.C. have expanded access to drivers licenses to qualified drivers, regardless of immigration status, and we believe New Jersey is poised to join these states. Doing so would increase public safety, help the state’s economy, and increase the well-being of all families. 
Now is the time to turn our values into action, and to ensure that justice for our state’s most vulnerable is neither delayed nor denied.
 Please use your power to make New Jersey a more merciful, just place for all of us.