California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Thursday granting illegal immigrants driver’s licenses, in a decision immigrant rights groups hailed as a major step forward for their movement.
The country’s largest state becomes the latest to reverse course and grant legal driving privileges to illegal immigrants.
Mr. Brown, a Democrat, still has several other major immigration bills pending on his desk that he must sign or reject by Oct. 13, including one that would require localities to turn over violent criminal immigrants that federal authorities want to deport.
The new California licenses will have special markings that show they aren’t supposed to be used as identification for federal purposes, but they will allow illegal immigrants to drive legally and, advocates said, to own cars.
Those advocates say allowing illegal immigrants to become licensed means better safety and lower insurance rates for all drivers, since those illegal immigrants who choose to go through the legal process will have to take a driver’s test and follow the rules for obtaining insurance coverage.
“The governor’s signature on AB60 opens a window of opportunity unfairly closed shut to millions of Californians in 1993,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. “The state Legislature and the governor recognize a driver’s license makes our roads safer and offers a practical tool any Californian, regardless of immigration status, can use to conduct everyday tasks that greatly contribute to our state’s growth.”
Via: Washington Times
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