STOCKTON, Calif.—A new federal law may be blocking driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants but that doesn’t mean they can’t buy—or register—cars in California.

Car dealerships throughout Stockton are using the quirk in the law to cater to customers without driver’s licenses, promising in signs, “No Licencia, No Problema,” according to an investigation by The Stockton Record.

That’s triggered concern from critics who say the practice promotes illegal driving by uninsured drivers.

Most Stockton dealers require a U.S. driver’s license, but many simply ask for any U.S. identification card, a license from another country _ or nothing, according to the newspaper.

“I don’t want to have to be the police ... verifying whether they have a license or insurance,” said Don Wendell, a sales manager at Grand Auto Sales in Stockton. “That’s not my job.”

Most insurance companies won’t cover vehicles without a valid California driver’s license.

Don Widmer, an agent for State Farm insurance, said the dealers’ practice puts more unlicensed and uninsured people behind the wheel. “It’s frustrating because there’s a lot of people without licenses and you wonder how they got the car on the road,” he said.

Last month an Assembly committee approved legislation passed by the state Senate that would allow illegal immigrants to get licenses and still comply with new restrictions in the federal REAL ID Act, intended to deter terrorists.

“This bill is about public safety. Millions of Californians are in jeopardy every day” from illegal immigrants who lack driver training and insurance, said Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, whose son was killed by an uninsured driver.

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Information from: The Record