LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As California’s DMV prepares to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, community activists are giving the agency plenty of feedback on how to roll out the program.
At a public hearing in Sacramento Tuesday, community activists expressed their concerns on everything from how the driver’s licenses will look to how to notify undocumented immigrants about the program.
As dictated in the law signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown, the special licenses should be available before 2015, but several issues have not yet been ironed out. One of those issues is what documents would qualify someone to receive a driver’s license.
“Using anything that has their name with the date on it to prove their residency – a phone bill, a photograph, baptismal certificates, confirmation certificates from their parish,” said Flora Csontos, a representative of a religious non-profit.
The cards will have to be marked on the front and back to show that the license isn’t the same a legal resident’s driver’s license, per an amendment to AB60.
However, Miguel Molina, with the Coalition for Humane and Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, and other speakers said they wanted to make sure that having these licenses wouldn’t invite discrimination or any type of disadvantage.
Another concern Molina voiced during the hearing was whether the DMV would properly publicize the program.
“One of the things I want to see from the DMV is a vigorous campaign involving outreaching so that we can make sure that a lot of our community can benefit from this program,” Molina said.
