SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a late-night debate Thursday, the Legislature is handing to Gov. Jerry Brown a bill to grant driver’s licenses to young illegal immigrants granted temporary work permits by the federal government. The Assembly on Thursday night passed AB 2189 in a 55-21 vote after the Senate approved the bill in a 25-7 vote Wednesday, adding to the more than 230 bills that at mid-day Friday were on the governor’s desk on the Legislature’s final day of its yearly session. The passage marked a partial victory for outgoing Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, who has sought for years to grant driver licenses to all California drivers regardless of their immigration status. Also being debated Friday was a measure that would have the state ask federal authorities not to deport law-abiding, tax-paying illegal immigrants
SACRAMENTO, Aug 30 (Reuters) – California lawmakers approved a bill on Thursday to allow some young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children to obtain driving licenses, in a move that could appeal to Hispanic voters in the heavily Democratic state. The bill, which passed the state Assembly by a 55-15 vote before being sent to the desk of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, was introduced following the announcement of a federal program to relax deportation rules and grant some young immigrants temporary legal status in the United States. “It is a victory for those who were brought here through no fault of their own, played by the rules, and are only asking to be included in and contribute to American society,” the bill’s
sponsor, Assembly member Gilbert Cedillo, said in a statement
sponsor, Assembly member Gilbert Cedillo, said in a statement
The California state Assembly on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that would permit the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants who are eligible for work permits under a new policy handed down from the Obama administration. The bill is on its way to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to be signed into law. Fox News reports, “Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo [pictured above, next to photo of California's state capitol] of Los Angeles said he wrote AB 2189 to make roads safer, and allow young immigrants to drive to school and work.” The bill passed in California’s Assembly by a vote of 55-15 after it passed in California’s Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 25-7. The only other states to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants are New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. California’s bill is in response to a June announcement from the Obama administration of a federal program to ease deportation rules and allow some immigrants to gain temporary legal status in the United States. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the new federal program announced by the Obama administration, applies to immigrants who arrived in the United States before their 16th birthday, are younger than 30 years of age, have been living in the United States for at least five years, and either are in school, have graduated, or have served in the military. As of August 15, those who are eligible may file a document entitled “Request for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.” They will then be granted a work permit for two
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