NC legislators offer driving permits and new restrictions for illegal aliens
NC legislators offer driving permits and new restrictions for immigrants here illegally
Published: April 10, 2013
2013-04-10T20:08:46Z
By Bruce Siceloff and Anne Blythe The_News_and_Observer
RALEIGH — More than 300,000 North Carolina immigrants who are not in the United States legally would have a new chance to become legal drivers under sweeping legislation proposed Wednesday in the General Assembly – but the state also could make their lives harder with new restrictions, stepped-up immigration enforcement actions and tougher treatment in the jails and the courts.
Four House Republicans led by Rep. Harry Warren of Salisbury filed a bill that would offer restricted driver’s permits to “undocumented aliens” not in the country legally, if they had lived in North Carolina for a year.
They would have to submit to criminal background checks. Their driving permits would include images of their thumbprints.
Echoing provisions of an Arizona law that was upheld last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, Warren’s bill also would authorize law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of anyone they stop, detain or arrest, “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person ... is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.”
The bill also would:
Reduce prospects for pretrial release of “undocumented aliens” charged with violent felonies, other serious criminal cases and traffic violations.
Require any “undocumented alien prisoner” to repay the state for the cost of incarceration. It was not clear whether this requirement for reimbursement would include cases where the prisoner was not found guilty of a crime.
Make it a felony to possess a phony driver’s license or to use someone else’s license.
Make it a felony to make or sell a phony government ID card, in most cases. It would still be only a misdemeanor if the card was used by an underage person to buy alcohol or cigarettes.
Put restrictions on the types of documents that can be used to confirm a person’s identity or residency with government officials. A matricula consular or other document issued by a foreign consulate or embassy would not be accepted. No ID cards issued by any person, organization or agency would be accepted either, unless it was expressly authorized by the General Assembly.
One section of the bill, without reference to immigrants or aliens, would give the state new power to seize and sell automobiles in cases where someone was driving without a license or without liability insurance.
Warren’s bill comes just a few weeks after the state Division of Motor Vehicles began issuing driver’s licenses to young immigrants participating in a federal program that defers their deportation for two years.
Since March 25, DMV has issued licenses to more than 1,500 immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children or stayed here illegally after their visas expired.
‘About accountability’
State government and local law enforcement officials say the licenses will make the roads safer – in a state where one out of every seven accidents involves someone driving without a license, and frequently without insurance.
“It’s really about accountability and safety,” Transportation Secretary Tony Tata said last week at a state Board of Transportation meeting. He was speaking of the program that started March 25, with DMV issuing licenses to participants in the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“Many of the individuals who are obtaining licenses have mentioned, ‘I’ve been driving.’
So now they’ve taken the test, they’ve got the insurance and now they’ve got a license.”
North Carolina would become the fifth state to grant driving privileges to those who are unable to prove legal residency – joining New Mexico, Washington state, Illinois and Utah.
California and Maryland are considering similar measures.
North Carolina changed its laws in 2006 to block those in the country illegally from renewing their licenses. This came after several years when state leaders made it easy to get a license so that all drivers, regardless of their immigration status, had insurance and understood driving laws. As a result, North Carolina became a magnet for immigrants who came her from other states to get a driver’s license.
Warren’s legislation seeks to avoid a repeat of that experience. Its proposed driver’s permits would not be available to immigrants who moved to North Carolina after April 1 of this year.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/10/2816058/nc-legislators-offer-driving-permits.html
