Thread: No license to drive: Illegal immigrant drivers...

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/article ... news03.txt

No license to drive: Illegal immigrant drivers creating problem in De Queen
Thursday, November 23, 2006 2:53 PM CST

By JIM WILLIAMSON
Texarkana Gazette

DE QUEEN, Ark.—Hispanic drivers in De Queen without driver’s licenses have become an accident waiting to happen, an official said.

“The majority of Hispanics have no driver’s license and they’re part of the illegal immigration problem. If they’re here illegally, they can’t get into the system to get driver’s license. In most cases they don’t have car insurance either,” said Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy.

The drivers also have no vehicle insurance and no liability insurance, says McKelvy.

“Apparently they’re not getting the message. They continue to drive and have no driver’s license,” he said. “The problem is not with legal immigrants. It’s the illegal immigrants.”

McKelvy has asked the city attorney and the police chief to review the problem and research how other communities have handled the problem.

“We don’t have a solution. We need to do something to convince them to comply with the law. If they don’t have a driver’s license, they don’t drive. Many are repeat offenders. We write a ticket, impound the car and they get it back a week or two later. I think this is becoming a problem all over the country,” McKelvy said.

The mayor said through 10 months this year, the De Queen Police have written 302 tickets for no driver’s license and the majority are Hispanic violators. McKelvy said one Hispanic has been issued misdemeanor citations six times for driving with no driver’s license. The maximum fine is $500 for each offense.

In the last two months, De Queen has been averaging about an accident per week involving Hispanic drivers with no driver’s licenses. Ten vehicles have been involved and the average amount of damage per vehicle was estimated to be $3,000. So far, none of the crashes in De Queen have been fatal.

Police files show one Hispanic male without a driver’s license of his own being caught trying to teach another Hispanic male to drive on Sept. 28. A woman called to the dispatcher’s office saying a blue Mitsubishi Eclipse with a broken windshield was circling her and her friends while they were walking on Johnson Bridge Road.

Deputy Jeff Wahls searched the area and located the vehicle at the intersection of Wells Road. Wahls stopped the vehicle occupied by two Hispanic males and identified the passenger as Fernando Lima. The driver did not appear to be able to speak English and the passenger only spoke limited English. The driver was asked for a driver’s license and said he did not have one. Wahls pulled his own wallet from his pocket to show the driver what he was asking about. The driver shook his head again, according to the report.

Deputy Jeff Wahls searched the area and located the vehicle at the intersection of Wells Road. Wahls stopped the vehicle occupied by two Hispanic males and identified the passenger as Fernando Lima. The driver did not appear to be able to speak English and the passenger only spoke limited English. The driver was asked for a driver’s license and said he did not have one. Wahls pulled his own wallet from his pocket to show the driver what he was asking about. The driver shook his head again, according to the report.

The driver wrote Eduardo Cortez on a sheet of paper for the deputy and also included a date of birth. A check with the dispatcher showed no driver’s license or warrants on the two men.

Wahls wrote a citation to Cortez for no driver’s license and as he was handing Cortez his copy of the ticket, he noticed Cortez had a wallet in his front pocket. Wahls asked to see it and found a photo identification card from Mexico with the name Zenon Sanchez Lima.

Wahls asked the driver why he had given a false name. Lima said he had been told not to give his real name and he was scared. Lima was taken to the county jail and charged with no driver’s license and criminal impersonation.

On Nov. 12 three vehicles were damaged by one driver who left the scene of the accident in the Wal-Mart parking lot. De Queen Police Capt. Troy Cravens was dispatched at 11:06 a.m. Witnesses said a vehicle was traveling south in the parking lot when it veered left of the driving area and struck a parked 2004 Pontiac Grand Am.

The impact pushed the Grand Am sideways about 6 feet into a restored 1972 Chevrolet Malibu owned by Phillip and Linda Bond of Cove parked on the south side of the Grand Am. The Malibu received an estimated $3,000 in damages.

The driver of the vehicle then left the scene. At 3:34 p.m. a man identified as Robert Aguilar came to the Sevier County jail and turned himself in as being the driver. The vehicle was a 1991 Geo Storm.

Aguilar was cited for no driver’s license, no proof of insurance, leaving the scene of an accident and careless and prohibited driving.

McKelvy said he did not know if any churches might offerdriver’s education classes for Hispanics.

“All we want them to do is the right thing and obey the laws,” said McKelvy.

“All we want them to do is the right thing and obey the laws,” said McKelvy.

Wouldn't that necessarily include their returning to their own nation of origin or being forcibly deported? How do you expect a lawbreaker to obey the laws?

I listen to my scanner alot. I daily hear; no license, no DL, send the hook (tow truck). Someone wrote in our paper that they saw a young guy pulled over, hook came, then his mother came to yell at the cop -they snagged her too for no license or DL.

So far, none of the crashes in De Queen have been fatal.

Tick, tick, tick................

“We don’t have a solution. We need to do something to convince them to comply with the law. If they don’t have a driver’s license, they don’t drive. Many are repeat offenders. We write a ticket, impound the car and they get it back a week or two later. I think this is becoming a problem all over the country,” McKelvy said.

What does this mean, NO SOLUTION & COMPLY WITH LAW?

Isn't being in this country illegally the first law broken and driving without a license should be enough to deport them.

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Wahls asked the driver why he had given a false name. Lima said he had been told not to give his real name and he was scared.

Folks, this is happening all over the country. Many of these illegal aliens are giving false names for such violations because they know the police aren't going to arrest and book them. If an amnesty does happen, these same individuals, who have repeatedly broken our laws and have lied to the police for years will be eligible for the amensty simply because they were never charged with a crime. These individuals should be arrested, booked (finger printed and identity ascertained), and their vehicles sold at public auction to help cover the cost of prosecution.

No ID? False statements to a police officer? Take them to the station for driving without a license and false statements, and keep them there until they or a family member or friend comes up with some form of valid ID, or a magistrate sets them free.

Note: under federal law all aliens except for minors must keep immigration documentation with them at all times, so an alien in public without immigration documentation is a federal immigration offense in itself, not to mention driving without a license or false statements.

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Originally Posted by MW

Wahls asked the driver why he had given a false name. Lima said he had been told not to give his real name and he was scared.

Folks, this is happening all over the country. Many of these illegal aliens are giving false names for such violations because they know the police aren't going to arrest and book them. If an amnesty does happen, these same individuals, who have repeatedly broken our laws and have lied to the police for years will be eligible for the amensty simply because they were never charged with a crime. These individuals should be arrested, booked (finger printed and identity ascertained), and their vehicles sold at public auction to help cover the cost of prosecution.

You hit the nail on the head, MW!

Listen to the lack of common sense in that above statement! They want us to believe this tripe?

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If the illegals get caught drving without a driver's license and insurance they should be arrested if that is state law. In Florida it is an arrestable offense.
As I have posted previously; according to highway patrol 1 out of 10 drivers in the state are driving without a driver's license and that number is even higher in South Florida. They don't belong on the road period!