California is set to begin sharing driver's license and identification data with other states through a national database, a move that could expose the residency of undocumented immigrants. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will feed data into the State-to-State Verification Service and a nonprofit-run SPEX database, as approved by Democratic legislators in the new state budget.
The inclusion in this system is described by state officials as crucial for compliance with the federal Real ID Act. Without California's participation, the Department of Homeland Security could refuse to accept state-issued IDs for access to federal facilities and boarding commercial aircraft.
The system, managed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), is designed to flag individuals without a Social Security number by listing "99999" in their records. California's Assembly Bill 60 previously allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, though these licenses are marked as subject to federal restrictions.
This data-sharing plan was previously met with resistance from lawmakers concerned about the lack of safeguards for undocumented immigrants. However, the revised legislation includes additional protections. According to H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for Newsom’s Department of Finance, the established safeguards limit the information shared to the minimum necessary. The legislation also allows the attorney general to take legal action against the nonprofit or participating states if data-sharing agreements are violated. Furthermore, all data requests fulfilled by the agency will be made public.
The DMV is required to submit a final monitoring plan by July 2027, and the state auditor will begin inspecting compliance with data-sharing guidelines in 2030. The $55 million allocated in the state budget will support the DMV's participation in these verification services.