I had the opportunity to witness a historic moment for California's undocumented immigrant community. In a ceremony held at Los Angeles City Hall, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on Thursday morning the document that signed into law the AB 60which authorizes undocumented immigrants in California to apply for driver's licenses.
The new law will not take effect until January 1, 2015.
It is estimated that approximately 1.4 million undocumented immigrants will apply for driver's licenses in the next 3 years.
The licenses for undocumented drivers will be a little different. Instead of reading "DL" for "Driver's License", it will read "DP" for "Driver's privilege".
The passage of the law comes 20 years after then-Governor Pete Wilson banned the issuance of driver's licenses to undocumented drivers.
This great achievement is due to the efforts of many people and activist organizations that fought for years to return this privilege to undocumented immigrants in the state. Special thanks are due to Councilman Gilbert Cedillo, who fought for many years to make this moment a reality.
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