California DMV to Share Driver License Data with AAMVA, Raising Immigrant Privacy Concerns

The California DMV will send driver-license records, including SSN status, to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) for its State-to-State Verification (S2S) system, SPEXS, to satisfy the Real ID Act. Assembly Bill 60 (2013) lets undocumented residents obtain licenses and prohibits using the data to determine citizenship. Over 1 million Californians hold AB 60 licenses; 18 states have similar programs.

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Participants include Governor Gavin Newsom’s office (Diana Crofts-Pelayo), DMV Director Steve Gordon, AAMVA CEO Ian Grossman, and advocacy groups The Identity Project (Ed Hasbrouck), Oakland Privacy (Tracy Rosenberg), Western Center on Law and Poverty (Linda Nguy), American Friends Service Committee (Pedro Rios), and Electronic Frontier Foundation (Becca Cramer-Mowder).

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The $55 million budget will fund a database that stores the last five Social Security digits, using “99999” for missing numbers. The system verifies duplicate licenses across states and may later support mobile IDs.

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Governor’s office said California “continues to lead in supporting immigrant families and protecting data from federal overreach.” AAMVA CEO Ian Grossman said participation voluntary; state employees or contractors may access the system; bulk searches prohibited; require name and birth date. DMV Director Steve Gordon noted the lack of an SSN identifier and urged, “we need to go now.” Robert Rivas’s office said lawmakers engaged.

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Advocates argue the transfer relinquishes control of data. Ed Hasbrouck warned that once uploaded, California cannot prevent bulk access. Tracy Rosenberg called it “a direct betrayal” of AB 60 promises. Linda Nguy likened it to a prior HHS data-sharing breach. Pedro Rios called it “a betrayal of California’s commitment to protect and defend all its residents.” Becca Cramer-Mowder questioned the urgency of complying with a two-decade-old Real ID law.

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California law limits sharing Social Security numbers to tax, parking or child-support, yet the plan would transmit the last five digits. AAMVA says it will notify California of subpoenas “if legally permitted,” but gag orders could block alerts. Whether federal immigration agencies can obtain bulk data despite AAMVA’s claim that bulk searches are prohibited remains unclear.

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• “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, The Identity Project

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• “It’s unclear how extreme the danger people are being put into by this decision but there ’s no doubt we told people with AB 60 licenses this would never happen, but it’s happening, and that’s a direct betrayal,” — Tracy Rosenberg, Oakland Privacy

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• “-Mexico Border Program at the American Friends Service Committee, was not on the call, but echoed Rosenberg and Nguy, calling the data sharing plan “a betrayal of California’s commitment to protect and defend all its residents, especially those who have an AB 60 driver’s license.” — Pedro Rios, American Friends Service Committee

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• “It just seems like we’re missing the bigger picture of this moment in time,” — Becca Cramer-Mowder, Electronic Frontier Foundation

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Legislators must approve the $55 million budget request before the data transfer proceeds. The plan may require amending AB 60 or related statutes, and the ongoing Oklahoma lawsuit against similar data sharing could influence California’s implementation.

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