Newsom's office
touted the move as a "critical step for inclusion." He stated that California is "a state of refuge – a majority-minority state, where 27 percent of us are immigrants." He suggested further that the conferring of IDs by the Department of Motor Vehicles to criminal non-citizens will help make the state
stronger.
Democrat Assemblyman
Mark Stone (D), who introduced the bill, claimed that it would bring "equity to those who have been unable to access basic life essentials because they have no legally recognized identification."
Illegal alien drivers have been able to acquire licenses
since 2015. Over 1 million of the estimated
2.7 million illegal aliens living in California have done so already, according to
the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC). That leaves approximately "1.6 million undocumented people who are eligible and could benefit from having a state government-issued identification card."
Although non-drivers who are in the country illegally could alternatively use "a consult ID or foreign passport to corroborate their identities," the CIPC claimed that doing so "is an often dangerous 'outing' process ... hence making them feel unsafe and vulnerable in revealing that they are foreign nationals living in the U.S."
This law specifies that the enforcement of federal immigration laws "does not constitute an urgent health and safety need," so indications on the license that the holder is an illegal alien will henceforth be omitted. Any documents used to acquire the ID
will not be made public record.
The CIPC tweeted that the ability for criminal non-citizens to "access social services, healthcare, to rent, & to feel included as a member of our society" will be "life-changing."
Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D) claimed that this "legislation moves us one step closer to true equity for our undocumented neighbors."
To
obtain a Mexican driver's license, by way of comparison, an applicant must provide a copy of his visa confirming legal status, his international passport, his birth certificate, and proof of address in the country.
According to Assemblyman Stone's office, those incarcerated illegal aliens who were previously unable to acquire driver's licenses "because they cannot access a driving test in prison" will also now be able to acquire ID cards.
New perks for non-driver illegal aliens
With their state IDs, non-driver illegal aliens will be able to:
- gain "improved access" to in-state tuition at taxpayer-funded public colleges and universities as well as to student loans;
- open bank accounts;
- access health care and citizen benefits; and
- receive more "legal assistance in civil matters affecting basic human needs."
Additionally, with these IDs, foreign nationals who have illegally entered the U.S. and become street vendors will now be able to easily acquire local health permits and therefore better compete against citizen-owned businesses.
With
2,150,639 illegal aliens having stolen into the country so far this year, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested this law will only exacerbate the border crisis.
Richard Grenell, former acting director of National Intelligence,
wrote that Gavin Newsom "should be worried about illegals voting with the IDs he is giving them."
In 2018,
there was some question whether thousands of illegal aliens had been enabled to vote in California as a result of the automatic voter registration of DMV driver's license recipients.
Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz
suggested last year that Democrats stand to benefit from what "California does – automatically register everyone who gets a driver's license to vote, then do nothing to weed out the votes of illegal immigrants."