California will become the tenth state in the U.S. to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for drivers’ licenses after Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark bill earlier this month.
Gov. Brown signed the bill into law on Oct. 3 after a 55-19 vote in the State Assembly and a 28-8 vote in the Senate.
It is expected to give the 2.8 million undocumented immigrants who live in California the chance to apply for drivers’ licenses, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS).
Luis Alejo, a member of the State Assembly, authored the bill, according to a State Assembly press release. The bill allows undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license with a tax ID number, or other identifier that is appropriate.
Before the law, undocumented immigrants would have been be detained for driving without a license and then deported. “My father was stopped and detained for driving without a license and consequently, he was deported,” David Gonzalez, an 18-year-old undocumented student at California State University, Northridge, said.
Rosa Sánchez, former Language Development Assistant for SCUSD, feels that the law will keep situations like Gonzalez’s from happening. “The law will make the undocumented drive with licenses, therefore making streets safer and allowing people to respect driving rules,”Sánchez said.
Undocumented immigrants’ drivers licenses will have a special marking visible on the front that reads “DP.” This means “driver’s privilege,” as opposed to a typical California license that says “DL,” or driver’s license. The new bill will take effect January 1, 2015.

Staff writer Tomás Mier contributed to this report.