Thread: TN-Local firms sell imm. sham driving document-W POLL

'International driver's license' a con
Local firms sell immigrants sham driving document
By Daniel Connolly
Monday, July 13, 2009

Some companies in Memphis are openly selling worthless driver's licenses to immigrants in a scam that's become so widespread some businesses have begun accepting the questionable documents as identification.

The sham licenses are especially appealing to illegal immigrants, who can't obtain a real driver's license in Tennessee and may lack identification of any kind.

What should be done about the sale of worthless international driver's licenses?

Charge companies selling the sham licenses with a crime.

Deport illegal immigrants who present the bogus licenses as identification.

Both of the above.

Nothing; law enforcement has too many other, more important priorities.


Comments (20)

The situation illustrates the gray zone in which illegal immigrants live.

They can be deported at any time, but enforcement in the U.S. interior has historically been light, and many illegal immigrants now hope to gain legal status under the Obama administration. In the meantime, they're eager for documents that help them live and work here.

The sellers exploit that wish by running big color ads in local Spanish-language newspapers that urge people to pay as much as $100 for a document called the licencia internacional, or international driver's license.

"You can drive anywhere in the world tomorrow," one ad for a storefront business in Memphis promised.

But holders of the international driver's license run the risk of charges if they're stopped on the road without a real license issued by a U.S. state or their home country.

Patrolman Edgardo Solero of the Memphis Police Department says about 60 percent of the Hispanic drivers he pulls over are carrying the sham licenses. "And they're under the impression that those licenses are good," he said. "Because that's what they're being led to believe."

Solero, who is from Puerto Rico and gives crime prevention talks in English and Spanish, says he confiscates the sham licenses and charges the motorists with driving without a license if they don't have another one.

The international driver's license has no value as identification, he said. "When they get these licenses done, they could have given any name," he said. "It's a business, and it's an illegal business."

Memphis police don't enforce immigration law, but Nashville law enforcement works closely with federal immigration authorities. Memphis attorney Elaine Witty said she's representing a handful of immigrants who face deportation after showing an international driver's license to officers in the Nashville area.

Many of the people running the driver's license scam are immigrants themselves.

"People with the same heritage are victimizing one another, and it's not right and it's not fair," said Special Agent C.M. Sturgis, a Memphis FBI spokesman.

Sturgis said he once went with another agent to tell a business to stop selling the documents. But the FBI has other priorities and doesn't usually pursue these cases, he said. And a Federal Trade Commission spokeswoman said the agency hasn't pursued a seller of international driver's licenses since 2003.

In Memphis, the businesses that sell the documents usually provide a wide range of other services, from translations to helping immigrants buy license plates.

Some of the companies have run into trouble recently.

El Zacatecano Bilingual Service in East Memphis was listed in at least one newspaper ad in recent years as a seller of the international driver's license. This year, an investigative report from Deputy County Atty. Danny Presley accused the owner of the business, Maureen Bowers, of bribing Shelby County officials in exchange for breaking rules in vehicle transactions for her Hispanic clients. Bowers has not been charged. Efforts to reach her were unsuccessful.

Oficina Universal in Hickory Hill is closed following a law enforcement raid earlier this year.

Dominque Pryor-Anderson, co-owner of a tax service next door, said she saw the letters "ICE" -- short for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- on officers' clothes.

It's unclear why the raid happened. ICE referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office, which wouldn't comment. No charges have been filed against the owner, Jose Angel Hernandez.

Hernandez said in a phone interview that the international driver's license is simply a translation of a person's license from their home country. He didn't answer most of the fraud allegations directly, and repeatedly told a reporter to look at another business.

"You should go to the office of El Grafico Services, where they're making those documents right now," he said in Spanish.

El Grafico Services LLC, sells everything from cell phones to satellite dishes at stores around the area. Owner Arturo Granada also publishes a Spanish-language newspaper, El Grafico, which often advertises the documents.

Granada said in an e-mail that his stores review the applicant's data, including a valid license from another country, and send the information to Alabama for processing by a group called The International Automobile Driver's Clan.

Granada said his company never claims that the international driving document replaces a government-issued license. Instead, he says it's a translation that must be accompanied by a valid license from the person's home country. He also said the practice is covered by international treaty.

Luis Allegro, a representative of the International Automobile Driver's Clan in Birmingham, said the company translates foreign driver's licenses but doesn't claim to sell an "international driver's license."

"Most people make a mistake and they put an ad in the paper that says international driver's license," he said. He strongly denied the business is a fraud. "We do not lie to people," he said.

He described the Birmingham office as a dealer for the main office in New York City. That company does use the words "international driver's license" on its Web site, iadc-club.com.

The International Automobile Driver's Clan isn't approved by the U.S. State Department to issue international driver's permits, which travelers present along with their government-issued driver's license when they visit other countries.

Even though authorities say the international driver's license is a scam, some local car dealerships and at least one insurance agency have advertised in recent years that they accept it as identification.

Questions, answers

Can illegal immigrants get Tennessee driver's licenses? No, current state law forbids it. But all foreign visitors can use licenses issued by their home countries for 30 days.

What is an international driver's license?

It's a sham document that imitates the international driving permit, which is meant to help travelers drive in other countries.

Real international driving permits are issued in the United States only by AAA and the American Automobile Touring Alliance. These permits, which costs about $15, are only valid when accompanied by a driver's license issued by a government.

Where is the sham license sold? It's sold in some Hispanic businesses in states including Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. It's also sold online.

Are the sham international driver's licenses related to identity theft? No, they're worthless documents.

Can illegal immigrants use sham international driver's licenses to get jobs? No. There's a much more secretive black market in fraudulent green cards and social security cards that illegal immigrants can use to obtain work. By contrast, the purpose of the international driver's license scam is usually to fool the person who's buying the document, not the person they'll show it to -- however, some businesses accept the licenses as ID.

Is selling sham international driver's licenses illegal? Yes, but law enforcement has other priorities. The Federal Trade Commission brought action against some companies selling the documents in 2003, but hasn't done so since.


http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... nse-a-con/

What should be done about the sale of worthless international driver's licenses?
Thanks for your vote.

Charge companies selling the sham licenses with a crime. 20% 30 votes
Deport illegal immigrants who present the bogus licenses as identification. 4% 6 votes
Both of the above. 70% 103 votes
Nothing; law enforcement has too many other, more important priorities. 4% 7 votes
146 total votes

What should be done about the sale of worthless international driver's licenses?

Thanks for your vote.

Charge companies selling the sham licenses with a crime. 20% 37 votes

Deport illegal immigrants who present the bogus licenses as identification. 3% 6 votes

Both of the above. 71% 127 votes

Nothing; law enforcement has too many other, more important priorities. 3% 7 votes

177 total votes

Jeremiah 29:11