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DMV Holds Public Hearing on Undocumented Immigrant Licenses

On Behalf of | Feb 14, 2014 | Blog, Recent News, Undocumented Drivers

Last night more than 250 people packed into the Bell Community Center for a hearing about the new Immigrant Driver’s License law to go into effect next year. State Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and DMV officials, including Assistant Chief Counsel Brian Soublet, answered public questions about the new law.

Some of the questions posed involved the proof DMV will require for an immigrant license, noting that in many cases folks have lost touch with anyone back home. Others were concerned that the driver’s licenses would be used to identify illegals for deportation. Senator Lara acknowledged that law enforcement officers who don’t want to follow the law was a “big problem.”

Last night’s hearing was the second of two planned before DMV starts drafting the regulations required to implement the new law, which Mr. Soublet said he hoped would be completed by late spring. Then DMV will hold another set of public hearings to talk about those proposed rules.

UPDATE: The L.A. Times posted an article on last night’s hearing, quoting the United Nation’s Children Fund for the statistic that up to 40% of births in the developing world are undocumented, and noted that the figure may be as high as 60% in some Mexican states.