46,200 immigrants have applied for California driver’s license

It’s been about a week since California began allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, and tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants have already taken advantage of the opportunity.

An estimated 46,200 undocumented immigrants have applied for driver’s licenses, according to statistics released Tuesday by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV said 54 percent who took the written test in English passed it, compared with 36 percent who passed it in Spanish. Those who passed the written test must return for a driving test before they can get a driver’s license.

The DMV also said a total of 970 driver’s licenses have been issued to undocumented immigrants.

SEE ALSO: California is ready to deliver driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants

Undocumented immigrants were able to begin applying for California driver’s licenses on Jan. 2 thanks to a law approved last year by the state legislature. Under Assembly Bill 60, undocumented immigrants can obtain driver’s licenses if they provide proof of identity and residence as well as pass written and driving tests.

Jorge-Mario Cabrera, communications director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), said his organization is “excited” about the initial number of applicants.

“We knew that the license would be tremendously popular in our community,” Cabrera said in an interview with VOXXI. “Getting a driver’s license is a necessity. It’s something that people must have in order to do very basic things, like getting to school or going to work.”

However, Cabrera also said his group is “a bit concerned” about the number of people who’ve failed the written exam. He advised immigrants to study before going to apply for a driver’s license and noted that CHIRLA offers a class for $35 to help people prepare for the written and driving tests.

SEE ALSO: Dreamers begin applying for driver’s licenses in Arizona

“So far, we’ve been getting very good results from people who have taken our class,” Cabrera said.

The DMV has also set up a webpage that offers people a copy of the driver handbook, sample knowledge tests and other helpful materials. In addition, the webpage lists all the acceptable documents that undocumented immigrants can use to verify identity and residency when applying for a driver’s license.

(function(d, s, id) {

var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];

if (d.getElementById(id)) return;

js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;

js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=313098648827735&version=v2.0”;

fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);

}(document, “script”, “facebook-jssdk”));

The post 46,200 immigrants have applied for California driver’s license appeared first on Voxxi.