Thread: Company ordered to stop selling licenses to immigrants

Ummm....Isn't selling fake ID's a federal offense?


Houston & Texas News

April 10, 2008, 3:06PM
Company ordered to stop selling licenses to immigrants

By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — The state has halted a Houston business from selling fake driver's licenses to immigrants that Attorney General Greg Abbott said gives "a false appearance of legitimacy on those who are in the United States illegally."

Abbott said 129th District Judge Grant Dorfman had issued a restraining order against Centro de Identificationes and its owners: Guillermo R. Robles and Hernan C. Trujillo. Abbott said the driver's license sales violated the Texas Deceptive Trades Practices Act.

Each of the licenses sold for $225, Abbott said. He promised to obtain restitution for anyone harmed by the sales.

But Abbott declined to say whether his office would ask about the legal resident status of anyone applying for the restitution or whether his office would report anyone in the country illegally to federal immigration authorities.

"That's a different legal issue," Abbott said.

Abbott said not everyone who bought a license may be an illegal immigrant, but he said the marketing targeted a Hispanic market.

Texas does not issue driver's licenses to individuals who cannot document their legal resident status.

Abbott said people who bought the licenses were led to believe they were an international license that would allow them to drive in the United States and buy and sell vehicles.

"These so-called international driver's licenses are not worth the paper they are written on," Abbott said.

Abbott said federal law allows only the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliances to sell international driver's licenses to U.S. citizens who will be traveling in foreign counties that participate in an international treaty.

The licenses may not be issued to foreign nationals. He said international driver's licenses for non-U.S. citizens must be obtained from their home country.

Besides restitution, Abbott is seeking $20,000 in penalties for each violation of Texas law and attorney's fees. He also is requesting civil penalties of up to $250,000 for any licenses that were sold to individuals 65 or older.

r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 90852.html

Each of the licenses sold for $225, Abbott said. He promised to obtain restitution for anyone harmed by the sales.

But Abbott declined to say whether his office would ask about the legal resident status of anyone applying for the restitution or whether his office would report anyone in the country illegally to federal immigration authorities.

He promised to obtain restitution for ANYONE harmed by the sales--SO HE WILL OBTAIN RESTITUTION FOR ANYONE WHO WAS THE VICTIM OF AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH ONE OF THE DRIVERS INVOLVED HAD THE FAKE DRIVERS LICENSE!!!!!!

THAT SHOULD LOWER INSURANCE RATES!

Those people should be convicted of fraud and thrown in prison.

W

Abbott said 129th District Judge Grant Dorfman had issued a restraining order against Centro de Identificationes and its owners: Guillermo R. Robles and Hernan C. Trujillo. Abbott said the driver's license sales violated the Texas Deceptive Trades Practices Act.

A RESTRAINING ORDER when this guy was selling fradulent state drivers licenses! This guy will be in business again tomorrow in another state! Why isn't this guy being arrested and prosecuted! What the #*&^ is going on in this country with these people! They do as they please and are rarely held accountable for anything!

I'm sick of it!!!!

I bet this article I posted yesterday about an international drivers license scam in Nebraska is related.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-111141-.html