Illegal immigrants to get driver's license

SANTA ANA, (AP):

To get the driver's licenses they've long sought, immigrants living in California illegally will have to do something many have long resisted - publicly identify themselves.

The driver's license bill that the Legislature passed on its final day requires a distinction that will indicate if someone is in the country without proper documentation.

Like many immigrants, Albin Bandera said he's willing to take the risk. The 28-year-old said he currently skateboards to his job as a waiter in Los Angeles.

"It's just great because I can be mobile and able to transport myself from job to job, to school," said Bandera, who came here from Mexico as a toddler. "The day it comes out, I am there, the first one in line."

Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign the bill despite expressing opposition in the past. The governor said at an event in San Francisco Friday that Washington's "foot-dragging" on immigration reform helped convince him the move was necessary.