Illegal immigrants in Cambridge, Massachusetts, won’t be arrested for driving without a license, thanks to a new law.
Under a law passed by the city, police officers are advised not to arrest illegal immigrants found driving without a license. Instead, they are told to issue the drivers summonses.
“We need to protect our community members from a federal government that’s out of control,” Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan said. “There are no other reasons for the police to arrest someone, give them a court summons instead which keeps them out of the clutches of the Trump administration.”
Police had already been advised to follow this protocol for some time, but the council voted unanimously to make it a law, according to the Tuesday report. The law doesn’t restrict police from arresting drivers if they have additional violations besides the lack of a driver’s license. It does, however, keep police from asking if a driver is a legal citizen.
The Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation gave its support for a different bill earlier in February that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain state driver’s licenses.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh lauded the increasing support in a tweet on Feb. 5.
Happy to hear the Work & Family Mobility Act is moving forward. If signed into law, it will mean better drivers and safer roads for everyone who uses them. Thank you @reptricia @brendancrighton @joeboncore @Barber4StateRep https://t.co/3ou7GuCjVR
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) February 5, 2020
Cambridge, which is home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became a sanctuary city in 1985, and city officials have become more vocal about sticking to the status since President Trump took office.
“At the end of the day, we have to have a real conversation and understand that these folks seeking asylum are people,” Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern said during a Fox News hit in 2019. “They are not cargo.”
The mayor added that Trump has driven “wedges” with his stance on immigration.
