Thousands of driver's licenses were recently issued to immigrants in California amidst immigration raids happening since January after the Assembly Bill 60 (AB 60) was passed and took effect last year. A total of 605,000 immigrants received their driver's licenses according to reports.

The Associated Press said that the AB 60 gives some immigrants, including those who illegally entered the U.S. borders and are not able to present legal documents, the opportunity to receive their driver's licenses using identifications from their home countries.

Furthermore, this allows the undocumented immigrants to finally get behind the wheels and drive legally after passing written and driving tests from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The immigrants, however, will only be eligible to take an exam from the DMV after presenting proof of California residency.

The news comes with the DMV's announcement recently as reported by Latin Times. "DMV committed to successfully implementing this new law to increase safety on California's roads by putting licensed drivers behind the steering wheel," DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said as quoted by the publication.

"One year after AB 60 implementation there are 605,000 more drivers on the road who have passed all testing requirements and demonstrated their knowledge of California's rules of the road," she added.

The news outlet further revealed that the law was supported by immigration advocates who are also urging immigrants to keep their doors closed for the ongoing immigration raids in light of the Obama administration's announcement last year that it will now detain and deport undocumented immigrants that entered the U.S. borders since 2014.

In other news, the presidential candidates are already starting to release their statements regarding the immigration raids and why they are against it, starting with Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders who recently sent a letter to the President Obama, urging him to stop the raids immediately.

"I urge you to immediately end these raids and not deport families back to countries where a death sentence awaits," he said on his letter published via Sanders' website. "Raids are not the answer. We cannot continue to employ inhumane tactics involving rounding up and deporting tens of thousands of immigrant families to address a crisis that requires compassion," he added.

Sanders also stressed that immigrants should be given refuge since they are from hostile countries. "It is critical to acknowledge that most of these families are refugees seeking asylum and entitled to humanitarian protection and legal counsel," he further wrote.