Thousands of Illegal Aliens Get California Driver's Licenses

The DMV line for your drive's license starts at the border.

Bend Over California

More than 11,070 illegal aliens were issued California 

driver's licenses during the first full week.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is checking up on immigrants in the country illegally who are applying for driver's licenses to see if they had older licenses under different identities. But officials said Tuesday that they won't penalize applicants whose records are otherwise clean.

Undocumented immigrants living in California are now eligible for driver's licenses under a program that started on Jan. 2. Immigrant advocates say some applicants who previously held licenses under Social Security numbers that were not their own have been told they will need to meet with a DMV investigator.

Armando Botello, a spokesman for the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, said those applications are being checked against the agency's databases to prevent duplication and ensure drivers don't have outstanding traffic tickets reports KCRA News.

"The person shouldn't worry about documents, shouldn't worry about a previous record if the record is clean and if the license has not been used (...) to commit a major crime" such as identity theft, Botello told the Associated Press after a news conference about the licenses in Sacramento.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in 2013 to allow immigrants to drive in a program designed to improve road safety and make immigrants' lives easier.

The state expects to field 1.4 million applications for the licenses over the next three years. About 46,000 immigrants started applying in the first three days of the program.

Immigrant advocates have urged applicants who previously used someone else's Social Security number to obtain a driver's license to check with a lawyer before applying.