Stratford Republicans Vote ‘No’ on Illegal Immigrant License Bill

By Jason Bagley and Eileen McNamara

Amid reported political rancor, the state House Thursday agreed that undocumented immigrants can get a Connecticut driver's license.

The House voted 74 to 55 on the measure. Total votes necessary for passage was 65.

Most voting in favor of the bill were Democrats while Republicans -- including Stratford State Reps. Laura Hoydick and Larry Miller -- largely opposed the measure.

Stratford’s lone Democrat in the House, Terry Backer, was absent for the vote.

“I believe we all want to do something to fix the problems with our broken immigration system, but this isn’t a solution,” Representative Hoydick said in a statement. “With a social problem of this magnitude, we really need to be crafting policy a better way."

Added Representative Miller, “Last week the majority Democrats told us they couldn’t afford the $400,000 hole in the state budget eliminating a ‘death tax’ on failed business would cause, but here they are eager to spend $1.2 million on ensuring illegal immigrants have driver’s licenses issued by our state.”

Read more about Hoydick and Miller’s reaction here.

Earlier in the day the House voted 132-0 in favor of a bill that would limit how state and local police officers can hold illegal immigrants for deportation, the Connecticut Mirror website reports. 

The Senate, where Democrats hold a clear majority, votes next on both bills. If they pass, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs them into law, Connecticut would join a small number of states to allow licenses to undocumented immigrants. Malloy has said he supports the license measure. 

The state's Office of Legislative Research estimates that 54,000 immigrants could obtain licenses under the bill over the next three years, the Mirror reports.