Assembly Bill 60, passed and signed into law in 2013, will allow undocumented immigrants in California an opportunity to apply for a driver’s license in California effective January 1, 2015. Since February of this year, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) has engaged activists, community members and other stakeholders by holding nearly two dozen community education presentations in Monterey, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. The trainings cover the core of the legislation, required documentation for the application process and effective strategies for passing the written test.
To meet expected demand the DMV will be opening four temporary field offices in the state, staffed by 1,000 new employees. San Jose was selected as one of the locations for the temporary offices, with one slated to open on 2222 Senter Road for the sole purpose of serving AB 60 applicants.
SIREN has joined forces with community organizations, churches, labor unions, and parent groups to increase awareness and encourage the community to prepare and apply for the licenses. Along the way, SIREN has been instrumental in aggregating information about the AB 60 authorized licenses from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and sharing that information with the community while soliciting feedback from the various community groups.
In addition to it’s own efforts in engaging the community, SIREN has recruited grassroots leaders to serve as AB 60 ambassadors – community leaders who are trained to educate their own groups about the law and the application process. This process culminated last week when SIREN held its first Train-the-Trainers seminar to give ambassadors the knowledge and tools to engage their community with comprehensive trainings.
With the application slated to begin in January 2015, the DMV is finalizing its regulations for this bill this week, with several key issues set to be decided. Of note to the community include the language and markings displayed on the licenses issued to undocumented Californians, the list of documents required to prove identity and residency when applying and affirmation from the DMV about the privacy and confidentially of the information submitted throughout the process.
SIREN will be leading a caravan of community volunteers and activists to Oakland on Thursday, June 26 for the final public DMV Hearing before the regulations are adopted. SIREN plans to tell the DMV to:
- Expand the list of documents required to prove identity and residency;
- Keep information submitted private and confidential;
- Refrain from discrimination in the implementation process; and
- Affirm the elimination of the signed legal affidavit.
If you would like to join SIREN at the public hearing in Oakland, receive an AB 60 presentation in your community, or would like to take part in the Train-the-Trainers program, please contact Jeremy Barousse at Jeremy@siren-bayarea.org.
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