LOS ANGELES – Undocumented immigrants in California can now obtain driver’s licenses under Assembly Bill 60, also known as the Safe and Responsible Drivers’ Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1.
Even in winter-cold weather, hundreds of individuals lined up early Friday morning on Jan. 2 to take the test for their learner’s permits.
“This is a big opportunity for me,” Sammy Moeung, 24, a Cambodian immigrant, told the Associated Press. “Having this is moving a step forward in life, in California and the United States.”
Moeng, a Buena Park resident, arrived just after 4 am because he did not want to wait any longer to obtain a license, the news agency reported.
The provisions of AB 60 include prevention of being ticketed and arrested for driving without a license and avoiding the expensive costs of car impounding.
At the Granada Hills DMV, Huntington Park resident Miguel Pineda, 37, was the first to obtain his permit, the Los Angeles Times reported. He has been driving in the state for 15 years and at one point had his car taken away in 2005 when he was stopped by police and had no license.
Pineda had to pay nearly $1,500 to get his car back, he told the Times.
“When I saw a cop I’d get scared to think he’d stop me and take my car,” he said. “And even more when my appointment got closer. I didn’t want them to stop me and take my car again.”
California is now one of 10 states that allows undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses.
The DMV anticipates that 1.4 million immigrants will apply for licenses in the first three years of the program and has prepared for the new law for more than one year. An additional $141 million has been allocated to deal with the surge of applications and it has opened four new office and hired 900 more employees.
Undocumented immigrants were allowed to apply for licenses under the new law – AB 60 – 90 days prior to its implementation. Figures from the DMV show that the number of first-time driver’s license appointments made this year after immigrants were allowed to apply have more than doubled compared to the same time period last year.
By noon on Friday, the agency had seen 6,189 applications related to AB 60, said DMV spokesman Jaime Garza.
Law enforcement officials say they expect the program to improve road safety, as licensed drivers are tested and insured. Furthermore, a DMV study of crash data found that unlicensed drivers are more likely to cause fatal accidents than licensed ones.
“We believe a licensed driver is a safer driver,” said Armando Botello, DMV deputy director, according to the Times.
Los Angeles City Councilman Gilbert Cedillo, who has long advocated for these licenses, told the Los Angeles Times he felt a “great sense of satisfaction.”
“I’m really excited for the people of California because now we’ll ensure that every motorist will be licensed, tested and insured,” Cedillo told the newspaper. “It was difficult politically to carry a legislation for a community that was vilified, not appreciated, and marginalized.”
Immigrants who apply for licenses under AB 60 must provide proof of identity and state residency. Among documents that may be required include, but are not limited to: a foreign driver’s license, utility bills, proof of lease agreement, a valid identification issued by the consulate of the individual’s country of citizenship or an unexpired passport, and/or an income tax return. In lieu of a social security number, applicants may sign an affidavit declaring the individual both cannot provide satisfactory proof that their presence in the United States is legal and is not eligible for a social security number. The fee to apply for an AB 60 driver’s license is $33 — the same fee as a regular license.
Those without approved government-issued identification can be interviewed by a DMV investigator to find out if they qualify.
Applicants must also pass written and actual driving tests.
These licenses will display the words “federal limits apply” on the front and “not valid for official federal purposes” on the back, to ensure that they are legal under the bounds of the new law and are protected from discrimination by law enforcement.
Of the Asian Pacific Islander community in California, 416,000 are estimated to be undocumented.
Community organizations such as, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Filipino Migrant Center and Pilipino Workers Center, have resources available to help APIs living in the shadows study and apply for these new licenses.
(With reports from Allyson Escobar/AJPress, Associated Press and Los Angeles Times)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend January 3-6, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)