Nearly 200 seek licenses in Merced County as undocumented are allowed to apply

Close to 200 people applied for driver’s licenses in Merced County offices on the first day undocumented immigrants became eligible in California, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Jan. 2 was the first day anyone could apply for a license regardless of their legal status after Assembly Bill 60 took effect in the new year. The DMV released statewide and local statistics this week on the progress of AB 60, but there were no numbers on how people many passed the tests.

Merced’s office saw 126 applications Jan. 2, while Los Banos’ office took 54 directly related to the new law, according to DMV spokesman Jaime Garza. Each office also reported having scheduled more than twice the normal number of appointments that day.

“What we’ve seen as a whole is an increase across the state in the number of people who’ve come in to apply for an original driver’s license,” Garza said.

DMV officials statewide recorded 17,200 applicants that day, plus 11,100 Saturday and 17,900 Monday. That’s for all original licenses, including those who applied under AB 60, along with new drivers and those from out of state. Local statistics were not available for the other two days.

Statewide, 54 percent of applicants on Jan. 2 passed the English written test. Another 36 percent of applicants statewide passed the Spanish written test. Across the state, 970 applicants received a license.

By comparison, 51 percent of applicants passed the English written test between July 7 and Dec. 31. An additional 28 percent passed the Spanish written test during that time frame.

In 1993, the state began requiring proof of legal status to obtain driver’s licenses. In 2003, Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to drive legally again. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pressured the Legislature to repeal the law after Davis was recalled.

The DMV said it will release AB 60 updates every Tuesday.

An estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants are expected to apply for licenses in the next three years. They cost $33 and last five years.

The licenses look no different from other California driver’s licenses, with two exceptions. The front includes the phrase “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY,” and the back states: “This card is not acceptable for official federal purposes. The license is issued only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Nearly 200 seek licenses in Merced County as undocumented are allowed to apply."