Undocumented Illegal Aliens in North Carolina Face Deportation

January 1, 2009

By Alexandra Vilchez

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- More than 50,000 Hispanics in North Carolina will not be able to renew their driver's licenses in 2009 and could face deportation thanks to the state's eight separate programs aimed at detecting undocumented immigrants.

From Jan. 1, 2002, to Aug. 28, 2006, North Carolina permitted the use of a taxpayer identification number, an ITIN or W-7, so that residents lacking a Social Security number could apply for a driver's license.

During that period, the Division of Motor Vehicles issued 220,983 licenses valid for five years to applicants presenting the ITIN as identification, the majority of them undocumented immigrants of Hispanic origin.

But under political pressure from anti-immigrant groups reporting that "illegals" from other states were flooding into North Carolina to take out licenses fraudulently, the state legislature approved a restrictive law on July 2006.

The law now bars anybody without legal status in the United States from having a driver's license or a government-issued ID.

According to DMV figures, for the year 2009 around 50,555 drivers - mostly undocumented Hispanics - that obtained licenses with the ITIN must present a Social Security number to get a new one.

Without a license, undocumented Hispanics can neither register a vehicle nor get insurance.

That situation, according to Tony Asion, director of the El Pueblo group in the North Carolina capital of Raleigh, is keeping the state from "collecting a large amount of money from taxes on these services."

"People don't want to drive without licenses but they don't have any other choice than to take a chance and drive, since they can't get to distant places on a bike, and some rural towns don't have good transportation systems," Asion told Efe.

An analysis by The News and Observer newspaper using figures from the court system showed in June that Hispanics are fined for not having a license more than any other ethnic group although they make up only 7 percent of the state's total population.

From April 2006 until now, eight North Carolina counties have activated the 287g program that allows verification of the immigration status of foreign detainees in local jails.

That means that if an undocumented alien is arrested in any of those counties for not having a driver's license, he or she could face deportation.

A report by the North Carolina sheriffs' association revealed last month that between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 4,511 foreigners were investigated under the 287g program, of which 3,359 were undocumented.

Of that total, approximately 3,182 were deported and another 177 had previous orders to leave the country.

Some 829, or 23 percent, were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and 1,215, or 33 percent, for minor traffic infractions.

Eleanor Kinnaird, a Democratic state senator from Carrboro north of Raleigh, told Efe that the 287g is a program that encourages racial profiling.

"They take Hispanics to jail for not having a license and to citizens they just issue a summons to appear in court. That is simple discrimination," the senator said.

Asion predicts that in 2009 the arrests of undocumented aliens for not having a license will continue, and for that reason the organization he directs will begin talks this year with lawmakers and will pressure them to restore the privilege of driving to the undocumented.

"It's better for the state in these times of financial crisis. And the streets are safer if people know the laws and can respond in case of an accident," he said.

www.laht.com