Mass. balks at Arizona licenses

Unlike Massachusetts, Arizona allows applicants to use translators to take the written test - or, more commonly in these cases, bypass it altogether if they obtain a certificate from a state-approved private driving school, where instructors often speak their languages.

Abdikadir Mohamed of Lynn is among the immigrants who joined a stream of refugees from Somalia, Bhutan, and Burma who caught flights to Arizona, obtained licenses, and returned to Massachusetts to exchange them, only to have them suspended.

The father of six said he needed a license to safely commute to the graveyard shift at a factory and to ferry his children to their separate schools. But, because of language barriers, he failed the written driving test twice, before he heard about a solution sweeping refugee communities across the state: He could get a driver’s license if he traveled more than 2,000 miles to Arizona.

“You go because you don’t have any other option,’’ said Mohamed, 55, through a translator at the Chelsea Collaborative, where he is studying to become a US citizen. “The people speak my language there.’’ He said he is bewildered by Massachusetts’ actions against him.

To get a license in Massachusetts, eligible applicants must first pass a written learner’s permit test and then a road test, and pay fees and meet other requirements. To accommodate immigrants, Massachusetts offers the written test in English and 26 other languages, which state officials say is second only to California. State policy against allowing translators is designed to prevent fraud, officials said.

Rachel Kaprielian, head of the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, says the refugees broke the law by going to Arizona, and could have sought other help to pass the test, such as signing up for English classes or other programs offered through the state.