Connect with us

Accountability

California bill proposes offering state IDs to all, regardless of immigration status

Published

on

A bill proposed in the state of California, if passed, would expand California ID’s For All Act (AB 1766) to allow everyone in the state of California to obtain an ID, regardless of their immigration status.

According to DMV records, over 1 million undocumented immigrants in California have been able to get a driving licence, but have been unable to obtain a state ID.

Los Angeles-area Assemblymen Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Miguel Santiago joined Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo along with immigrant-rights advocates spoke on Friday at the Pasadena Job Center to promote the bill.

“This bill is about ensuring baseline quality of life for every person living in this state, regardless of their legal status,” said Jones-Sawyer, who co-authored one of the bills.

Jones-Sawyer went onto explain the difficulties and impracticalities that come with not having a State ID card. “The only state-issued ID someone with undocumented status can obtain is a driver’s license, blocking a vulnerable portion of the population who are lacking access to a car or the ability to drive from any access to any form of identification,” he said.

Advertisement

“Without any identification card in California, you can’t open a bank account … rent an apartment or a home … even cash a hard-earned check,” he continued. “We need to make sure people no longer face these barriers.”

California’s DMV have estimated that if the bill is passed into law, there would be “significant one-time up-front costs, potentially in the millions.” The DMV also estimated initial annual costs coming in at $8.6 million, but they expect this to reduce to $500,000 by 2028.  

The Senate appropriations committee’s analysis also stated that running costs, including DMV salaries would be paid for by ID application fees.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
+ posts

Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.

Advertisement
Click to comment
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Trending

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x