Undocumented individuals sign up for driver’s licenses under AB 60

As undocumented individuals sign up for driver’s licenses under a new law, some immigration rights advocates at UCLA say this is merely a first step toward more rights for undocumented individuals.

Assembly Bill 60, which took effect Thursday and was implemented the next day, allows undocumented individuals to get driver’s licenses. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law in 2013.

Demand for new licenses, partially because of the law, has been so high that more than 9,000 new driver’s license appointments were made for Friday, with 61 appointments made at the Santa Monica Department of Motor Vehicles, the closest one to UCLA, said DMV spokesman Jaime Garza.

Juan Manuel Menjivar, a third-year Spanish student, says that based on his personal struggles without a license, he thinks the new law will be helpful to many undocumented individuals.

Before Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, Menjivar could not get a driver’s license, making it difficult for him to get a job and travel to his community college. Menjivar said obtaining a license under DACA made his life much easier because had a form of identification he could use to get a job, and he did not have to drive illegally anymore.

“Without a license, I didn’t really have any hope, because I couldn’t work and pay for school, so I’m thankful to California and DACA for helping me out,” he said.

DACA is an executive action implemented by the Obama administration that defers the deportation of undocumented individuals who came to the United States as children. California passed a law in 2012 allowing DACA recipients to apply for regular driver’s licenses.

Licenses obtained under AB 60 will look different from regular licenses, and these licenses cannot be used as identification to enter airplanes or enter restricted areas of federal facilities, such as prisons.

Menjivar said he worries that the differences in the licenses’ appearance will pose problems for undocumented individuals.

“The good outweighs the bad, but I’m concerned with what will happen if someone with an AB 60 license gets stopped at a DUI checkpoint … (he or she) could get deported,” he said.

While the DMV has said that under new regulations approved in September, the information it obtains from those applying for a license under AB 60 cannot be used by state and local law enforcement to make assumptions about an individual’s immigration status, DMV records can always be used in the event of a criminal investigation.

Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, an associate professor of Chicana/o studies, said he thinks AB 60 may give undocumented individuals some relief, but it leaves behind those who cannot afford to drive. He added that he thinks more needs to be done to provide documentation and identification for undocumented individuals.

“There’s still a need for other forms of identity … a city ID card, which is being done in Oakland, seems like a good way to help more undocumented individuals get identification,” he said.

In 2012, the L.A. City Council voted to accept proposals to create a city ID card.

Others have said they oppose AB 60 because of its cost.

Amanda Fulkerson, a spokeswoman for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, told the Los Angeles Times last month that the caucus was concerned with the additional costs to taxpayers for accommodating AB 60 applicants.

The state has allocated $141 million to fund the processing of AB 60 applicants over the next three years, extending office hours and hiring new staff.

According to the California DMV website, to apply for a driver’s license under AB 60, applicants must schedule an appointment online or by phone, and must bring some form of identification, such as a passport as well as proof of residency, such as utility bills.