The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) released draft regulations today that outline the potential process and requirements necessary for undocumented immigrants living in California to apply for driver licenses.
Since October 2013, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 60 (Alejo) into law, the DMV has been working with experts, immigrant rights activists and community members to draft a process that is accessible for applicants but also manageable for the state. An estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in California are expected to apply for licenses under this new law when it goes into effect no later than January 1, 2015.
The Drive California Coalition, comprising a broad range of civil and immigrants’ rights organizations released the following statement:
“We are glad to see the DMV move forward with the implementation of AB 60, which if successfully implemented, would ensure that all California drivers can be trained, tested, licensed and insured.
“We look forward to taking a close look in the coming days at the proposed draft regulations and analyzing them in detail to make sure they protect immigrant drivers. We will continue to work with the DMV in this public comment period to come up with final regulations that ensure that AB 60 licenses are accessible and protect the civil rights of all immigrants.
“However, these regulations do not resolve the issue of the license design. We urge the Department of Homeland Security to come to agreement with the 19 Members of the California Congressional delegation who just this morning sent a letter urging the Department to respect California law and the license design proposed by the Legislature in AB 60, which carefully balances complying with federal law and protecting immigrant community members from discrimination.”
###
About the Drive California Coalition:
Drive California is a statewide coalition comprised of civil and immigrants’ rights organizations working to ensure to successful implementation of California’s landmark drivers’ license program for immigrants. Members include, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA), the American Civil Liberties Union of California (ACLU-CA), the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), Central American Resource Center - Los Angeles, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Council on American-Islamic Relations California (CAIR-CA), Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC), Justice for Immigrants Coalition in San Bernardino (JFIC), Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), PICO California, Presente.org, the Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN), TODEC – Training Occupational Development Educating Communities, and Voces Unidas Solano.
