Attorneys who primarily deal with the Registry of Motor Vehicles argued Friday that they should have access to their clients’ driving records after an immigrant driver’s license law put in place restrictions on third-party access to the documents.
attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office held a hearing in Boston where members of the public weighed-in on proposed regulations that could go into effect at the end of the month that outline what RMV data can be shared with the public, as the Herald first reported.
Central Massachusetts attorney Matthew Gilman asked Campbell’s office to amend the proposal to allow attorneys of record the ability to obtain driving records on behalf of their clients.
The so-called Work and Family Mobility Act restricted access to any information associated with a Massachusetts license holder or applicant, including driving records. Drivers can still obtain their own records through the RMV if they have the correct information.
But Gilman said the proposed regulations may still prevent him from getting a client’s record, something he argued could impede his ability to defend them in court.
He said he does support the underlying state law, which allows someone without lawful proof of presence to apply for and obtain a standard Massachusetts driver’s license if they have at least two documents proving their identity and birth date.
“The registry is now preventing lawyers of record from obtaining these critically important records,” Gilman said. “We need to able to review these records. There’s causes of conflicting interpretations of the regulations when we speak with the registry, when we have conversations with the attorney General’s office.”
Advocates of the law said access should be restricted to RMV records so that information about a driver’s license holder who does not have lawful proof of presence cannot be used against them by immigration authorities.
Rep. Christine Barber, a Democrat, said a critical part of the law was including “strong protections” for information the RMV receives and retains through the licensure process.
Driver’s license information, Barber said, has been used in other states by immigration authorities in deportation proceedings.
The law and temporary regulations bar those with access to RMV data from sharing it for the purposes of enforcing federal immigration policies or to agencies who primarily enforce federal immigration law.
There are exceptions to that prohibition if agencies certify they will not use the information to enforce federal immigration law.
“We wanted to make sure in this law that we have very strong information sharing policies to make sure that drivers can go through the process and learn the rules of the road, drive legally without worrying that their information will be used to deport them,” Barber said.
John Christian, president and CEO of Modern Assistance, works with people who have substance abuse issues.
He said when he is working with someone to regain their lost license, the RMV needs a substance abuse evaluation “to determine that the person is a low risk to operate a motor vehicle while impaired by either alcohol or drugs.”
“In order for a professional like me as an advocate to do that, I really need to see the driving history. Now, I don’t necessarily have to be able to pull that driving history myself. If, as attorney Gilman suggested, that process is through the attorney of record, that’s fine with me,” Christian said.
ACLU of Massachusetts Field Director Laura Rotolo said nothing in the immigrant driver’s license law or regulations “were ever meant to diminish public accountability or transparency.”
“Public accountability and government transparency are essential and so too are privacy protections, especially for vulnerable people and communities,” Rotolo said. “These regulations strike a balance by incorporating what is now a national best practice that anyone requesting data must agree that the information will not be used for immigration enforcement.”
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