Aliens can now get licensed

CALIFORNIA issued about 131 000 driver’s licences to undocumented immigrants in January and February, the first two months since the state began granting the permits to people who are in the country illegally, officials said on Friday.

The most populous US state joined nine others and the District of Columbia in granting licences to drivers regardless of immigration status, a controversial move that marked a significant shift in policy towards immigrants in California.

The law’s backers say they expect an estimated 1.4 million driving-age immigrants to apply for licences over the next three years. Between 2 million and 3 million unauthorised immigrants are believed to live in California.

The state issued 59 000 of the licences in January, and 72 000 in February, the Department of Motor Vehicles said. By comparison, the state in February issued about 49 000 licences to residents of the state who are here legally, the department said.

Not everyone who applied for a licence was granted one. Altogether, about 387 000 undocumented immigrants applied for licences during the first two months of the programme, the state said, but only 131 000 were granted them.

Immigrants applying for the licences must still prove their identities with birth certificates or other means, the state said, and must pass a driving test.

To meet the concerns of state law enforcement and others, the licences have a marker that says “federal limits apply”, which is meant to prevent them from being used for identification purposes to board an airline and for other federal purposes.