Almost 500,000 illegal aliens have applied for California driver licenses within the first three months of 2015, doubling expectations under the state’s new AB 60 law. AB 60 specialist Carlos Leon assures the DMV is not allowed to share information that would otherwise lead to deportation.
Only 203,000 of the 493,998 applicants have been granted licenses to date under the law that took effect on January 2, 2015, reports the California DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). The DMV has added extra offices, employees, and hours in preparation for an expectation of 1.4 million applicants over three years. Employees working on AB 60 applications also attended mandatory sensitivity training.
Illegal aliens fearing deportation in the AB 60 driver license process are being reassured that the DMV will not communicate their information to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). At a recent Los Angeles stop of Representative Luis Gutierrez’s National Immigration Action Tour, AB 60 specialist Carlos Leon addressed an audience question regarding whether a foreign national illegally present in the U.S. would be arrested upon visiting the DMV. Leon told the questioner that the DMV has made an agreement not to provide any information obtained through AB 60 license application process to ICE.
The Law Dictionary website states, “If you know of someone whom you have good reason to believe is illegally in the United States, it is well within your rights and indeed your responsibility to report that person to immigration officials.”
“The interest in this program is far greater than anyone anticipated,” DMV Director Jean Shiomoto stated. Projections now estimate the exponential level of applications to continue, which would mean approximately one million applications by July of 2015.
In an article for Breitbart, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly commented, “After the passage of AB60 in California, illegal aliens may now obtain a California drivers license, as long as they can produce a consular ID known as a Matricula Consular, which the FBI has said is one of the most insecure documents in existence. Once you have your California drivers license, you can build an identity, just like Monroy-Bracamonte did with a Utah drivers license.” A Mexican Federal Electoral Card, Mexican Passport, and Mexican Consular Card are listed as acceptable identification to apply for an AB 60 license.
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