A small police department in southeast Los Angeles is trying to solve statewide problem, starting in its own backyard. The Maywood police lost one of its own three years ago. Officer Dan Kelley was hit and killed by a man who had no license, and no legal right to be in the United States.
Our Golden State is the adopted home of an estimated 3 million undocumented immigrants. They live here, they work here, and some of them drive here. But as undocumented immigrants, they cannot even apply for a driver’s license. They cannot get driver’s training, and they cannot get car insurance.
Ab-60 is being proposed by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles. It would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses legally from the department of motor vehicles. It’s a heated issue, one that draws ire from both sides.
Opponents like FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration reform—say if the government provides an avenue for undocumented immigrants to get licenses, it would be aiding and abetting known lawbreakers.
“Our position is that we should not be making life easier for people who are in the country illegally, that if you’re here illegally, it ought to be the business of the State of California and all the other government entities around the United States to make it as difficult as possible for people to remain here illegally,” says Ira Mehlman of FAIR.
But for local law enforcement, it’s a way to make our roads a safer place to drive. Maywood sargeant Mark Van Holt adds “We’re not trying to open the borders. I think that what we’re trying to do is to regulate driving. We’re just trying to get people to take the test, to know the laws here in the state of California, and have the ability to get auto insurance.”