Starting after Jan. 1, California will become the eleventh state to allow undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses, when Assembly Bill 60 goes into effect. Friday, the DMV released the list of documents required for applicants to prove their identities and to prove they are California residents. On Saturday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1461, the New Motor Voter Act, which will automatically register people to vote through the DMV, and could result in illegal aliens voting. Any person who renewed or secured a driver’s license through the DMV may now register to vote, or choose to opt out of doing so.
- Driver's License Illegal Immigrants
- Immigrant Driver's License California
- California Illegal Alien Driver License
- Undocumented Immigrants Driver's License …
- Illegal Immigrant Driver's License California
Published 5:58 PM EDT Aug 2, 2019
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared to support a change in state law to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, when she gave an impromptu interview to an immigrants rights organization during the Democratic presidential debates in Detroit.
“We need to ensure that everyone’s got a path to getting a license, so they’ve got identification,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said in a video released by the group Movimiento Cosecha after an organizer for the group asked her if she favored issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
“That’s something that’s important to me, it’s important to our economy, and it’s important to the people of Michigan.”
Michigan passed legislation to ban the practice in 2008 after Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, issued a formal opinion in 2007 saying undocumented immigrants could not obtain driver's licenses. Cox's opinion reversed a 1995 opinion from former Attorney General Frank Kelley, a Democrat.
Tiffany Brown, a spokeswoman for Whitmer, would not answer directly Friday morning when asked whether Whitmer favors changing state law to allow undocumented immigrants to hold Michigan driver's licenses. But she did not deny the accuracy of the video and transcript released by Movimiento Cosecha.
'Not sure I’ll have much more to add outside of what the governor said in the video about ensuring that undocumented immigrants have a path to getting an ID,' Brown said in an email.
She did not specify what that path would look like or whether she was talking about a state identification other than a driver's license. In the video, Whitmer specifically referenced driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.
More: Detroit leaders: Democratic presidential candidates should address immigration
More: Immigrants rally in Michigan for driver's licenses
A dozen states, including Illinois and California, plus the District of Columbia issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
Proponents say allowing undocumented immigrants to hold driver's licenses would help Michigan's economy by making it easier for them work and pay taxes. They say it also would enable them to avoid being detained and deported in many cases, since a major reason for being detained is failing to produce a valid driver's license.
Opponents say the practice raises national security concerns and rewards those who do not observe all immigration requirements at the expense of those who do.
Republicans generally oppose licenses for undocumented immigrants, while Democrats are split on the issue.
Driver's License Illegal Immigrants
In a statement on Twitter Friday, Michigan Senate Republicans said the entire chamber, including then Sen. Whitmer, voted unanimously in 2008 to withhold driver's licenses from 'anyone in our state illegally.'
'Gov. Whitmer should listen to Sen. Whitmer,' the statement said.
Whitmer stepped into the contentious debate at the same time she has counseled Democratic presidential candidates to avoid veering too far to the left and to focus on 'dinner table' issues such as wages and education. For example, in an interview with the New York Times, she was critical of instances in the first Democratic debate in Miami when candidates raised their hands to questions such as whether free health care should be provided to undocumented immigrants.
Brown, the governor's spokeswoman, said there is no inconsistency.
'This was simply the governor responding to a question from a constituent,' she said.
Whitmer said in the interview with Movimiento Cosecha that Michigan fortunately has a secretary of state and an attorney general who 'feel the same way' about the issue that she does.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson 'has met with community leaders and legislators and stands with the governor in support of changing the law so that all individuals working and residing in our state may obtain a state ID or a driver’s license for use in Michigan,' said spokesman Michael Doyle.
Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, supports issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney said Friday.
Members of Movimiento Cosecha were arrested this week when they blocked the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel in an effort to raise awareness of immigration issues during the Democratic debates.
Dominique Leon Becerra, the group organizer who spoke to and recorded Whitmer, said they plan to make sure the governor follows through.
“No empty promises,' she said in a news release. 'We need to see real results and a plan to make driver’s licenses accessible to our community now!”
The Michigan Catholic Conference has long supported issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants 'as a matter of human dignity and the reality that transportation is necessary to get people to the places they need to be,' said spokesman David Maluchnik.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
Immigrant Driver's License California
Published 5:58 PM EDT Aug 2, 2019
3:35 PM
More than 1 million immigrants in the country illegally have obtained special California driver’s licenses since the state first began issuing them a little more than three years ago, the state Department of Motor Vehicles announced Wednesday as officials hailed the number as a major milestone.
Assembly Bill 60, which took effect in January 2015, requires the DMV to issue driver’s licenses if applicants can prove their identity and California residency, as well as meet all testing requirements, regardless of whether they can show they are in the country lawfully. As of March 30, about 1,001,000 immigrants have obtained the licenses, which are renewable after five years.
Supporters of the law argued that it would make roadways safer by requiring a driving test and providing less motivation for drivers afraid of being deported to flee the scene of a traffic accident.
Then-Assemblyman Luis Alejo, who wrote the landmark 2013 bill, called Wednesday’s news a win for all Californians.
“It’s been successful for over a million families who can now drive to work, take their kids to school in the morning or go see the doctor without fear that their car is going to be impounded,” said Alejo, now a Monterey County supervisor. “Now their lives are better, and our roads and highways are safer for everyone.”
The law passed after more than a decade of fierce debate. Critics at the time blasted California for giving out the licenses, saying they legitimize illegal immigration and make it easier for such immigrants to remain in the country.
The DMV originally estimated that 1.4 million immigrants were unlicensed and uninsured. In preparation for the new law, the department opened four additional driver’s license processing centers, hired about 1,000 employees and extended office hours.
By the end of 2015, the DMV had issued 605,000 licenses under the law. Applications have since slowed to an average of 10,000 a month.
The front of the licenses includes the phrase “Federal limits apply,” and the back states: “This card is not acceptable for official federal purposes. This license is issued only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.”
California residents who can show they are in the country legally are able to obtain a so-called REAL ID that does not include the same language and qualifies as a federally-approved form of identification.
California Illegal Alien Driver License
Immigrants in the country illegally were allowed to obtain driver’s licenses throughout the U.S. until 1993, when California leaders decided to prohibit access and 46 other states followed suit. Now, 12 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico allow immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders attributed a decline in ridership over the last few years, in part, to the new licenses. Last year, the number of trips taken on Los Angeles County’s bus and rail network fell to the lowest level in more than a decade.
Stanford University researchers found that hit-and-run accidents dropped by an estimated 7% in California after AB 60 went into effect. Their study, published last year in the National Academy of Sciences journal, found that the number of auto-related accidents and fatalities did not change overall. Researchers calculated that innocent California drivers saved about $3.5 million in out-of-pocket expenses for property damage in 2015 because of the law.
UPDATES:
3:35 p.m., April 5: This story was updated to add details about the difference between the AB 60 licenses and California’s REAL ID cards.
Undocumented Immigrants Driver's License …
Illegal Immigrant Driver's License California
This story was originally published at 7:50 p.m.