California is expected to hand over data about driver’s license holders to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, after facing threats from the Trump administration.
The information given to the organization, whose governing board consists of Department of Motor Vehicles officials from across the country, will be entered into the group’s state-to-state verification system and platform to verify whether someone holds more than one license issued in their name, according to CalMatters. Sharing the data allows DMVs to verify that a person doesn’t have duplicate licenses in multiple states.
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The development has sparked fears from immigration advocacy groups due to concerns that the shared data will show whether the individual has a Social Security number, meaning it could be used to identify people in the country illegally, signaling they are deportable. Following a briefing with the California DMV and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) office earlier this month, four advocacy groups told the outlet that the Department of Homeland Security had threatened to decline California licenses and IDs at airports if the data were not shared.
“Once this data is uploaded to AAMVA, it’s out of California’s control, no matter what California wants, no matter what protests we may make,” Ed Hasbrouck with San Francisco civil liberties group the Identity Project, who was on the briefing call, said.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a Newsom spokeswoman said allegations that data sharing could negatively impact immigrants without legal status are lies.
“CalMatters got it wrong – their reporting hurts vulnerable Californians by manufacturing fear and panic with lies,” the spokeswoman said. “California continues to lead in supporting immigrant families and protecting personal data from federal overreach.”
California emphasized it is complying with the federal REAL ID Act, which requires “limited, secure, state-to-state” verification of driver records through an independent, nonprofit association for states’ REAL IDs to maintain compliance and be recognized. AAMVA’s system is not designed for, nor accessible by, federal immigration enforcement, according to the state.
The development comes as the California DMV has been caught in the crossfire between the Trump administration and the state for months.
Washington said a federal audit determined that California was among several states engaging in “systemic non-compliance” with rules regarding non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
California and other DMVs across the country have been “illegally” issuing CDLs that allow truckers to stay on the road and retain the privilege after their legal status or work permits expired, among other issues, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
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In January, the secretary said he was withholding $160 million in federal funding from California after the state refused to revoke 17,000 licenses. In a March update, the California DMV said the government is revoking 13,000 non-domiciled CDLs, effective immediately.
The Washington Examiner reached out to DHS and the California DMV for comment.
