By Alexis Terrazas
It mattered not that Susana Monge—who for the previous five years drove illegally in California—arrived at the Driver License Processing Center in San Jose an hour before it opened. From 7 a.m., she watched the clock tick until it read 9:50 a.m., but the near three-hour wait proved well worth it.
“They didn’t let me go until it was my turn,” said Monge, a San Jose resident who is originally from El Salvador. “But then, I passed.”
On Jan. 6—just four days after the landmark California Assembly Bill 60 permitting the state’s undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license went into effect—Monge moved a step closer towards becoming a licensed driver. On the same day she passed her written exam, Monge scheduled her behind-the-wheel exam.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said.
Roughly 46,200 people applied for driver licenses under AB 60 on opening day Jan. 2, with about 970 of them actually receiving them. The DMV revealed that 54 percent of English test takers passed, while 64 percent of applicants who took the test in Spanish failed. The DMV also noted that the average pass rate at for the State’s four Driver License Processing Centers was 36 percent.
About 11,070 AB 60 driver licenses were issued between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, and 113,200 applicants visited a DMV office during that same time span, according to the DMV. The DMV also administered about 109,700 written or behind-the-wheel exams.
The Department of Motor Vehicles unleashed an aggressive campaign last year, encouraging applicants to study for the written test, while holding about 170 forums and outreach events throughout the state. Anticipating that nearly 1.4 million undocumented immigrants across the state could qualify for a driver’s license under the new law, the DMV opened four Driver License Processing Centers, including the lone Northern California location in San Jose.
During those forums many immigrants voiced concerns over potential discrimination with the AB60 license. To comply with federal law, the AB60 licenses had to provide a design mark to differentiate them from traditional licenses.
That subtle mark appears over the sketch of Half Dome on the front of the license and reads in all caps: “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY.” On the back of the license in the lower right corner, it reads: “This card is not acceptable for official federal purposes. This license is issued only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.”
“In other words, you can’t use it to board a flight, to identify yourself with federal Transportation Safety Administration (TSA),” said DMV Spokesperson Artemio Armenta. “But otherwise it’s a license that will show you’re able to drive.”
Immigrants last year also voiced fears of the DMV handing over their information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“All state, local and federal law enforcement can only access information for a specific individual as part of an ongoing criminal investigation,” Armenta said. “That information does not include whether an individual obtained a license under AB60 or not.”
Monge was undeterred by such concerns.
“Just imagine if they gave out the information of all these people. Remember that the people most hardworking are immigrants,” Monge said. “We’re the ones that struggle most. And with all these people that came here, if they get sent back to their countries, really, these white people won’t work like we do.”
Applicants for AB60 are required to prove their identity and state residency, a safeguard that prevents out-of-state immigrants from temporarily coming to California for a license.
“It’s overdue,” said a 35-year-old San Jose resident named Cesar, who is originally from Guerrero, Mexico. Cesar had been driving illegally for four years in California, and for 10 in another state. By Jan. 6, he had already passed his behind-the-wheel exam.
“It’s necessary … for everything.”
With the license costing a standard $33, applicants who have a history of driving infractions or tickets are encouraged to get any citations expunged.
“We’re not telling everybody to find out if there is something on their record. Just anyone who might have gotten a speeding ticket, even a parking ticket,” Armenta said. “If it goes unpaid, it will make its way to the DMV over time. We won’t be able to issue a license until that is cleared.”
The test, which is available in written and audio format or via computer at most DMVs, can be taken in both English and Spanish, with handbooks available in both languages as well. Applicants can miss up to six of the 36 questions on the test.
Jesus Muñoz, a 21-year-old native of Oaxaca, Mexico who now lives in San Martin, failed his first time, but passed his second.
“Now, I feel more comfortable,” Muñoz said, who for six months worried every time he got behind the wheel after getting off of his night shift at a pizzeria, for fear of getting pulled over without a license. “I feel more sure about myself now—driving legally.”