California to Share License Data with AAMVA for Real ID

California plans to share detailed records on driver's license holders, including those issued to immigrants without legal authorization, with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a nonprofit whose board includes state DMV officials nationwide. The move, aimed at complying with the federal Real ID Act to ensure state IDs are accepted at airports, has drawn criticism from immigration advocates who warn it endangers over 1 million license holders by revealing their lack of Social Security numbers.

The data will feed into the association's State-to-State Verification System and SPEXS platform, which checks for duplicate licenses across states. Records include the last five digits of a Social Security number or a "99999" placeholder for those without one, potentially signaling undocumented status to federal authorities. State officials confirmed the plan follows a recent briefing with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, where advocates learned of threats from the Department of Homeland Security to reject California licenses at airports unless the information is shared.

Advocacy groups, including the Identity Project,...