The Democratic nominee for Wisconsin secretary of state says her “number one priority” is to see the next governor sign a law granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, a policy the office she is seeking does not control.
JoCasta Zamarripa, a Milwaukee alder and former state representative, made the remark in an interview with WMTV’s Vanessa Kjeldsen published Wednesday. She said she would use the statewide post as a platform for the goal, even though she acknowledged she would need legislative approval for changes to the office itself.
She said she hopes the governor who signs such a bill is Democrat David Crowley, the Heartland Post reported. Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, narrowly won the Democratic primary for governor in August, defeating Francesca Hong by less than 1 percentage point. He faces Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.
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The Heartland Post also reported that the Department of Transportation, not the secretary of state’s office, administers driver’s licenses. Wisconsin applicants must prove citizenship or legal presence under a 2006 state law, so Ms. Zamarripa’s goal would require the Legislature to change it.
Ms. Zamarripa has pursued the idea for more than a decade. In 2015, she was one of the sponsors of a bill that would have provided licenses to immigrants who lack a Social Security number because they are undocumented or in the process of adjusting their status, FOX6 Milwaukee reported at the time. She called it “an economic development bill” and a public safety measure. The proposals she introduced as a legislator did not become law, according to the Heartland Post.
Wisconsin would join a minority of states if it made the change. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia issued licenses to undocumented immigrants as of March 2025, according to the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy group.
Republican Jay Schroeder, her opponent in the Nov. 3 election, is campaigning on moving election oversight into the secretary of state’s office and abolishing the Wisconsin Elections Commission, WMTV reported.
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