Undocumented immigrants now eligible for standard Illinois driver’s licenses with “federal limits”

By Sabrina Franza

Published on July 1, 2024

Under an Illinois law that went into effect Monday, undocumented immigrants are now eligible for standard driver’s licenses in Illinois.

It is a change that seeks to reduce the stigma around driving without citizenship, and to make the roads across the state safer.

For more than a decade, undocumented immigrants have been able to drive legally in Illinois so long as they passed their road test and had proof of insurance—under legislation signed into law in 2013 by then-Gov. Pat Quinn. This new law takes things one step further by changing the look and language of their former licenses.

What was known as a TVDL—a temporary visitor’s driver’s license—will now be replaced with a license that can be used as a valid form of identification. The TVDL featured a large purple rectangle with “TVDL” in white text at the top of the card.

Anyone who holds a TVDL has completed their written and road tests, and has proof of insurance—but does not have documentation as a U.S. citizen.

Olu Adeola is among those who has held a TVDL for some time.

“We got it because we have to move around,” he said. “We have kids. We have to go to job.”

Adeola is also one of around 22,000 people the state says are waiting for their new standard driver’s license in Illinois.

“It takes away this discrimination, from saying you are not a documented person in the United States,” he said.

Adeola and his family are from Nigeria, and he’s been in the U.S. for eight years. He now works at a restaurant on Chicago’s North Side, and is no longer living in fear of having a special TVDL license with a purple bar.

He talked about a time the police pulled him over, saying he was “shivering” in his car when it happened.

“It was written on it, ‘This is not valid for identification. And the guy asked me for means of identification,” Adeola said. “I pulled it out. I was thinking: ‘Is he going to turn me down? Is he going to say no?’ So I’m in trouble.”

Now, the TVDL will be replaced with a standard driver’s license—with the same red rectangle with “driver’s license” in white text that every Illinois driver’s license has. They would just say “federal limits” on the top.

A person with either the old or new license for undocumented immigrants has proved their residency, provided proof of insurance, and shown a passport—in addition to passing written road tests.

Previously, a bank account could not be opened with a TVDL, because it could not be used as an ID. Now thousands of people can obtain regular driver’s licenses and open bank accounts.

“This will help ensure that no longer will people in Illinois who are undocumented live with the stigma that we are putting away forever in Illinois,” said U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Illinois).

License holders can also use the new form of ID while filling prescriptions or applying for an apartment. They cannot use it to vote.

The new law also prohibits the use of data from the licenses to be used for immigration enforcement purposes. Only when an immigration agent provides a court-ordered warrant or subpoena can they request that information.

“This one will give you confidence to drive,” Adeola said.

The change—which mimics similar laws already in place like New York, New Jersey, and California—aims to encourage unlicensed drivers to take their road tests with proof of insurance.

“That means fewer drivers with valid driver’s licenses. It means fewer drivers who have passed written driving tests or who have learned the rules of the road. It means fewer drivers who have passed stringent behind-the-wheel driving tests,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

The state estimates that 22,000 new IDs will be mailed out Monday to those who have already requested replacements.

Over 300,000 undocumented immigrants will be eligible for the new license, CBS News Chicago is told.

This piece was republished from CBS News