A new report shows that California, a Democrat-controlled sanctuary state, has issued over one million driver’s licenses to illegal aliens living in the state since 2015, after a law was passed that eliminated the state’s legal resident requirement for obtaining such licenses.
As reported by Breitbart, the figures were revealed in a study published by CalMatters, which showed that roughly 4 out of every 10 illegals in California have been given a state-issued license. There are estimated to be at least 3.3 million illegals living in the state.
In 2015, when the bill was first signed into law by then-Governor Jerry Brown (D-Calif.), only about 400,000 illegals signed up for drivers’ licenses. In 2016, about 337,000 ultimately received their licenses. Between 2017 and 2022, another 500,000 illegals have since applied for licenses. Between 2018 and 2020, at least 580,000 illegals had their licenses renewed.
This law has only made California’s roads less safe, as illegals have a greater tendency to drive while under the influence of alcohol (DUI). In the Fiscal Year 2022, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested over 17,500 illegals throughout the United States with DUI convictions. During the same year, another 8,700 illegals were arrested with DUI charges against them.
Allowing illegals to receive drivers’ licenses has become a key component of the “sanctuary” approach to immigration, where certain states and cities – overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats – refuse to enforce federal immigration laws and forbid local authorities from working with federal authorities to arrest and deport illegals, no matter how criminal or how violent. California, sharing a border with Mexico, is considered the flagship “sanctuary state” in the nation. Giving drivers’ licenses to illegals also makes it easier for them to vote in elections, thus altering the outcomes and making them more lopsided in favor of Democrats, who are overwhelmingly supported by illegals.