The Massachusetts State Senate passed the Work and Family Mobility Act by a vote of 32 to 8. The following statement may be credited to the leaders of the organizations co-chairing the Driving Families Forward Coalition, Brazilian Worker Center Executive Director Lenita Reason and 32BJ SEIU Vice President Roxana Rivera:
“We are once again overcome with happiness, pride and gratitude for today’s historic vote in the Massachusetts Senate. The legislature has now resoundingly supported the Work and Family Mobility Act, moving all state residents toward greater road safety, improved security, better public health and a more vibrant economy, and promising a profound transformation in the lives of undocumented immigrants across the Commonwealth. The pursuit of these many goals is what brought us together in Driving Families Forward, a broad and diverse coalition of more than 270 businesses, faith groups, labor unions, community organizations and others. Working with law enforcement and other experts, Driving Families Forward also built in safeguards that led to the bill’s endorsement by the Massachusetts Major Cities Chiefs of Police Association, whose members lead two-thirds of the state’s total police force, as well as a majority of the state’s District Attorneys and sheriffs, and dozens of individual chiefs in smaller towns and cities.
We now urge Governor Baker to sign the bill, which provides all the safeguards necessary to answer any doubts he may has raised previously, and we look forward to then celebrating with him and all our allies as the Work and Family Mobility Act becomes law.”