California is about to start issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented migrants, a major step in the campaign to legalise the status of more than a million people in the state.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has ramped up staffing levels in anticipation of a wave of applicants when the new law takes effect on Friday.
Tens of thousands of people have made appointments to apply for a license and about 1.4 million are expected to apply over the next three years.
Proponents said the law, known as AB60, will take people out of the shadows and make roads safer.
It will make a huge difference to daily life, said the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion. “Without doubt it’s the immigrant community’s most anticipated law of 2015.”
Eduardo Garcia, a Democratic assemblyman who represents Coachella valley, told the Desert Sun the move was a “major victory” for immigrants. “It’s exciting, certainly historic and a great thing for California,” he said. “Having properly trained, tested, licensed and insured drivers on our roads is not only important, it’s a priority.”
Vehicle insurers said the law opened a new market.
California has an estimated 2.5 million undocumented migrants, many of whom need to drive in order to live and work in sprawling cities with meagre public transport.
Nine other states, including Nevada, Colorado and Illinois, grant licenses to undocumented people. Demand in California is expected to outstrip all the other states combined.
California’s DMV has budgeted $141m for 900 extra staff, four new offices, extended opening hours and and training to avoid the bottlenecks, high failure rates and other snafus which impeded applicants in other states.
“DMV is committed to successfully implementing this new law to increase safety on California roads by putting licensed drivers behind the steering wheel,” said DMV director Jean Shiomoto. “Californians planning to apply for a new driver license under AB60 should study for their exams and gather the required documents for proving identity and residency.”
The license includes a distinct marking from those issued to US citizens and legal residents.
A 2013 report by the California DMV found that unlicensed drivers were three times more likely to cause an accident than those with licenses. They were also more likely to flee the scene because being caught driving without a license can trigger deportation.
Decades ago, undocumented people were able to obtain a driving license because applicants did not have to prove legal immigration status. A 1993 law, passed amid anti-illegal immigration sentiment, changed that by obliging first-time applicants to provide a social security number.
With California public sentiment now swinging the other way, campaigners lobbied lawmakers to back to AB60 last year. Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed it, saying undocumented people no longer lived in the shadows.
“They are alive and well and respected in the state of California,” he said.
Immigrant rights activists urged those who had previously obtained a driver’s license under a false name or with another person’s social security number to consult a lawyer before applying, lest their application should trigger a fraud investigation.
