More than one million undocumented immigrants have obtained driver’s licenses under a historic state law known as AB 60, marking a significant milestone for advocates who say it’s improved road safety across California and has allowed immigrants to get behind the wheel — to get to work and the grocery store — without fear.

The DMV has issued 1,001,000 driver’s licenses since the law’s inception in January 2015, according to the state’s most recent data.

“It certainly has resulted in immigrants having a better life by no longer being in fear that they’re going to get their cars impounded or being put in deportation proceedings for something as simple as not having their license,” said Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, who authored the bill as a state assemblyman in 2013.

The law was controversial long before California’s bitter feud with the Trump administration over immigration. But law enforcement officials and transportation experts say it has improved road safety.

A 2017 study by Stanford’s Immigration Policy Lab, which explored the impact of the law in its first year of implementation, found hit-and-run accidents in California decreased by an estimated 4,000 in 2015 alone, reducing injuries and saving drivers who were not at fault in crashes an estimated $3.5 million in out-of-pocket repair costs.

The report found that hit-and-runs dropped about 10 percent in counties that have a large number of AB 60 drivers, including Santa Cruz, Monterey, Napa and Fresno.

Critics of the law, however, contend that it grants undocumented immigrants a privilege they don’t deserve and makes it easier for them to skirt federal laws aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from being employed.

“I do not think people in our country illegally should be given any type of identification, state or federal,” said Robin Hvidston, executive director of the Claremont-based group We the People Rising, which favors stricter immigration enforcement. “I don’t see how providing state laws to accommodate those here illegally makes us more secure.”

More than 600,000 undocumented immigrants in California obtained driver’s licenses under AB 60 in its first year, according to the DMV.

“With a driver’s license, you feel much more secure,” said Hortencia, an undocumented immigrant from Oakland who declined to give her last name because of her legal status.

Before getting her driver’s license in 2015, she said she feared police and worried constantly while on the road. During a drive to Hayward years ago, she was stopped by police, who discovered she was unlicensed and threatened to tow her car, she said. A friend, who’s a U.S. citizen, came to her rescue to pick up the car, but the experience rattled her.

“I’m still fearful today but I also feel a sense of peace because I’m complying with the law,” she said.

For Lisseth Rivera, of Oakland, and her husband Carlos, AB 60 has meant better job opportunities.

After getting his license in 2015, Rivera’s husband started a small business delivering a variety of supplies in his truck — everything from computers, boxes and more — to warehouses throughout the Bay Area.

“He didn’t have that opportunity before,” she said. “With him having his license, I have much less anxiety about what would happen if he’s pulled over.

“Back then, even if we had an emergency, we’d think twice about going out,” she added. “But now we don’t have that fear.”

To qualify for a driver’s license under AB 60, applicants must prove their identity and residency in California; pass the written exam and a driving test; submit thumbprints and show proof of insurance, among other requirements.

Hvidston argued the legislation doesn’t guarantee that undocumented immigrants will maintain their insurance once they’ve obtained their licenses.

AB 60 licenses are marked with the words, “federal limits apply,” meaning that they cannot be used by immigrants as federal identification — for example, getting through airport security.

Related Articles New California law won’t allow illegal immigrants to vote Alejo said the law has empowered undocumented immigrant drivers who were already on the road by ensuring they’re tested, licensed and insured.

And he pointed to another benefit: “Imagine a million new consumers who are buying auto insurance, buying new or used vehicles and renting cars. This has been an economic boon for California in the billions of dollars.”