"California on Thursday joined the growing list of states that allow immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally to obtain driver's licenses — a measure supported not only by Latino activists but by police chiefs and insurance authorities.
| The new law may affect 1.4 million immigrants * |
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"Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, the sponsor of Assembly Bill 60, and Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo, a former state legislator who sponsored a similar bill in the mid-1990s, praised Brown for signing the bill and said it was long overdue. Alejo called the new law a "historic measure," and Cedillo said it "opens a window of opportunity unfairly closed shut to millions of Californians in 1993."
.... Assembly Bill 60 requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to start issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants by Jan. 1, 2015. The licenses must include a mark or symbol that distinguishes them from regular licenses -- a requirement of a post-9/11 federal law." San Jose Mercury News/Politics and Government/Jessica Calefati, 10/3/13. "Governor Jerry Brown signs law allowing illegal immigrants to drive legally."
Reference - LegiScan, California Assembly Bill 60: Driver's licenses: eligibility: required documentation.
Note: License graphic from CBS Los Angeles, 10/3/13, site includes a 2.37 minute video. * The graphic caption that 1.4 million immigrants may be affected is taken from a comment by Cesar Juarez, former director of organizing for the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, (see the San Jose Mercury article).
Posted by Kathy Meeh
3 comments:
First step into turning these people into Taxpayers!
Shut off the stream of money being Western Union and wired out of the country and keep it here, in our economy.
Now, that's an interesting thought. Might cut down on one of the incentives to come here and that would not be good. We need immigrants. Our economy needs immigrants. Several key industries rely heavily on immigrant labor. It's their money. They earned it.
1259, driving with identification and auto insurance is a benefit for all Californians. And eventually the inclusion of insured drivers should decrease our auto insurance cost (through the larger identified insured pool, and liability reduction).
Follow-up legislation protecting undocumented immigrants was signed today. Los Angeles Times 10/5/13: "Law enforcement officials in California who arrest immigrants in the country illegally will be prohibited from detaining them for transfer to federal authorities unless they committed a serious crime under one of several bills signed Saturday by Gov. Jerry Brown to ease conditions for immigrants."
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