Mercedes ID case charges dropped
Arrest made under Alabama’s new immigration law

tuscaloosanews.com
By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 9:12 p.m.

The charges against a Mercedes executive who was arrested for driving without proper identification were dropped last week.

Detlev Hager, 46, was driving a rental Kia with no license plates when he was pulled over near the intersection of McFarland and Skyland boulevards last week.

He was arrested after providing only a German ID card, which is not considered an acceptable form of identification under Alabama’s immigration law. He would not have been charged if he had been able to show the officer a German driver’s license, a passport and visa.

The law that requires people to possess a driver’s license while driving is more than 70 years old. The new law targeting undocumented immigrants requires police to arrest people without licenses, instead of just writing a ticket, as they would have before the law went into effect Oct. 1.

The law enacted in 1939 requiring people to always carry driver’s licenses states that no one will be convicted if they are able to produce a license in court or to the arresting agency that was valid at the time of arrest.

An associate of Hager’s was able to provide the passport and German driver’s license, which led to the charges being dropped, Tuscaloosa City Attorney Tim Nunnally said.

Hager was one of 66 people who have been charged for not having proper identification between Oct. 1 and Nov. 16, according to the Tuscaloosa Police Department. Municipal court officials were unable to immediately provide information Tuesday about how many of the other cases have been dismissed.

Police Chief Steve Anderson said that each arrest for driving without a license takes at least one hour of an officer’s time.

Critics of the immigration law have pointed to Hager’s arrest as an example of the law’s unintended consequences and say that it could discourage businesses from locating in the state.

Dara Longgrear, director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority, said that the agency has heard some concern from businesses here.

“We have heard some concerns from existing companies about how this might affect their visitors and international business partners, but it hasn’t been an issue yet,â€