DRIVER’S LICENSES: Undocumented immigrants praise legislature’s approval

By David Olson and Jim Miller
September 13, 2013
The Press-Enterprise

Maria Reyes of Perris has been driving for years without a license. She said she taught herself to drive and never has taken a Department of Motor Vehicles exam.

But Reyes, 33, said she’s looking forward to heading to the DMV now that she and other undocumented immigrants likely will be eligible for driver’s licenses.

“I want to take (driving) classes,” Reyes said in Spanish Friday, Sept. 13, after celebrating the passage of a driver’s license bill with other immigrants at TODEC Legal Center, an immigrant-assistance group in Perris. “I want to do everything correct with the law.”

The state legislature Thursday approved a bill allowing an estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants to be eligible for California driver’s licenses that will have special markings to differentiate them from licenses held by citizens and legal residents. Gov. Jerry Brown signaled he will sign the legislation. The governor said in a statement Thursday that the measure “will enable millions of people to get to work safely and legally.”

The bill will take effect no later than Jan. 1, 2015.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, a vocal critic of illegal immigration, called the measure “fatally flawed” and warned that the licenses could allow would-be terrorists to board airplanes if federal TSA agents are not vigilant.

“We don’t know the people who we’ll be putting these in their hands,” Donnelly said.

But Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, said the bill would improve safety for all motorists.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that people who are on the road have been properly trained to handle a vehicle,” he said late Thursday.

The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, announced Wednesday that he planned to postpone a vote on the bill until next year to resolve concerns about the measure. But immigrant-rights advocates assailed the move, and the bill passed the Assembly and Senate on Thursday.

“There was a sense of urgency,” said Fernando Romero, lead coordinator of Justice for Immigrants Coalition of Inland Southern California, which participated with other immigrant-rights groups in a San Bernardino rally Thursday calling for a vote on the measure. “The bill isn’t perfect. But it’s definitely a step forward.”

Antonio Ayala, project director of TODEC, which also took part in the rally, credited grass-roots pressure with leading to the bill’s revival and passage.

“This wasn’t the politicians doing this,” Ayala said in Spanish. “This was the public.”

“It’s a triumph for all of us,” said Luz Maria Ayala, TODEC’s executive director and Antonio Ayala’s wife.

An English class Friday at TODEC turned into a party to celebrate the bill’s approval. Colorful balloons decorated the room, and students ate a cake with “Sí Se Pudo!!” – “Yes, we could!” – written in frosting.

TODEC sent busloads of people to Sacramento in 2011 and this year to lobby for a driver’s license bill and mobilized supporters to write and call legislators to urge them to vote for the measure.

The legislation requires that licenses for undocumented immigrants be marked with a “recognizable feature” on the card’s front, such as “DP” to stand for “driving privilege” instead of “DL”, which stands for driver’s license.

The license also will have to note that, “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.”

Disagreements over whether to accept the special markings was one reason Alejo initially held the bill. Antonio Ayala called for a push next year to strip the markings from the licenses.

Lorena Pérez, 46, an undocumented immigrant from Perris, said she’s not worried about the special designations. It’s better than having no license at all, which could lead police to impound her car and the payment of hundreds or thousands of dollars to retrieve it, she said in Spanish.

Pérez said she and her husband, Clemente Pérez, 47, have never had a ticket in 15 years of driving in California, so they haven’t faced impoundment.

But, she said, “When I leave home, I” – Pérez made the sign of the cross – “so I don’t get a ticket.”

Reyes said police impounded her car in 2011 after she was ticketed following an accident. She was never able to get it back, so she now borrows her boyfriend’s car.

“I need it to take my kids to school, to sports, to go to the doctor, to go out to eat,” she said. “Here you can’t live without cars.”

But Joe Guzzardi national media director of the anti-illegal-immigration Californians for Population Stabilization, said the state shouldn’t be making life easier for people who are in the country illegally – and especially shouldn’t help them get to jobs that the law prohibits them from holding.

“I see this as another step in California’s long history of facilitating the lives of illegal immigrants,” he said.

Canyon Lake resident Dan Wagner, a grass-roots activist with the anti-illegal-immigration group NumbersUSA, said he had mixed feelings about the measure. It could help the government keep track of people who are living in the country illegally, he said. But Wagner, 69, worried that holders of the new licenses could find some way to obscure the special markings and use them to obtain jobs and vote.

Undocumented immigrants eligible for the licenses must prove their identity and California residency. Under the bill, the DMV will work with law enforcement, labor unions, immigrant groups and other organizations to craft emergency regulations detailing the kinds of documents that people will have to submit.

Follow David Olson on Twitter: @DavidOlson11.