New Jersey lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill [press release] that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain New Jersey driver’s licenses. The bill, considered by the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee [official website], would allow such immigrants to get a license if they are able to satisfy [North Jersey report] the requirements of the state for providing proof of identity, date of birth and proof of residency. The state Motor Vehicles Commission would determine [Philly report] what documents could be considered as proof. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie [official website] issued a statement on Monday during the Assembly’s hearing, saying that he would veto the bill immediately if it reached his desk, calling the move irresponsible and dangerous. Supporters of the bill contend that it will improve road safety.

The issue of immigration and immigrants’ rights [JURIST backgrounder] has been hotly contested in the aftermath of Obama’s 2014 executive action [JURIST report] on immigration reform. In January a judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona made permanent [JURIST report] an injunction that requires the state to issue driver’s licenses to immigrants who were brought illegally to the US as children. Also in January the US House of Representatives passed [JURIST report] a funding bill that contained amendments that would block the executive order, and remove funding from the president’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In mid-December a district court found parts of the same executive order unconstitutional [JURIST report] on the basis of a violation of separation of powers and the Take Care Clause of the constitution. Earlier that month 17 states filed suit [JURIST report] against the president for his executive action, asserting that the order was an attempt to re-write law, a power designated solely for Congress.