Nearly 1 Million Illegal Immigrants Obtain Drivers Licenses in California this Year

In this photo illustration, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) logo appears on California driver's licenses in San Anselmo, Calif. on May 9, 2017. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In the state of California, nearly 1 million illegal aliens could obtain drivers licenses this year after the state passed a law a few years ago making it possible. 

That law, which passed in 2013 and went into effect in 2015, ensures that anyone can obtain a driver’s license in California without needing to prove American citizenship as long as they can show proof of identity and residency.

When the law first began after 15 years of lobbying from advocates, the response was so huge it reached double their expectations, The Sacremento Bee reports. The AB 60 license created from the law, called Assembly Bill 60, was intended to improve public safety and reduce driving penalties for undocumented immigrants. 

Through June of this year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued approximately 905,000 driver’s licenses under the law. 

A Mexican family stands next to the border wall between Mexico and the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on May 23, 2017.
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