ADRIAN — A group of Catholic congregations, including the Adrian Dominican Sisters, have joined with other organizations and municipalities in Michigan to endorse the Drive SAFE (Safety, Access, Freedom, and Economy) legislation that is pending in the state legislature.

The Drive SAFE bill package would make non-commercial Michigan driver’s licenses and state identification cards available to people who do not have proof of U.S. citizenship or immigration status. The bill would allow undocumented immigrants to have driver’s licenses and reinstate their right to drive in Michigan, which was revoked in 2008. Currently, 18 states and Washington, D.C., do not require proof of citizenship or immigration status to get a driver’s license. 

The Drive SAFE bill package is supported by Strangers No Longer of Southeast Michigan, an immigrant advocacy organization.

Thirteen Adrian Dominican Sisters and co-workers were among more than 180 people who went to Lansing on Nov. 12 to advocate for the bills. 

Members of the group included Sister Attracta Kelly, an immigration attorney and director of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Immigration Assistance, as well as Sisters Joyce Caulfield, Dorothy Dempsey, JoAnn Fleischaker, Virginia King, Patricia Leonard, Carleen Maly, Joanne Peters, June Racicot, Beverly Stark, and Sharon Weber, OP. They were joined by Laura Negron-Terrones, office manager for the Office of Immigration Assistance, and Sarah Nash, an attorney with Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe.

The Sisters stated that they support the legislation because it honors the inherent dignity of all people and would improve the safety and welfare of all Michigan residents. 

They said the legislation would make roads and communities safer and increase state revenue by up to $13.5 million in the first three years after its passage.