Thread: OH-Latinos object to tag scrutiny

Last Updated: 10:21 am | Saturday, November 14, 2009
Latinos object to tag scrutiny
Ohio enforces its ID policy
By Caitlin Varley • November 14, 2009

Comments (45) Recommend (6)

Leaders in Hamilton's Hispanic community call it an insult to basic human rights.




Butler County's top law enforcement official says it closes a loophole that saw people coming to Ohio from other states to register their vehicles with no proof of identification and no clue about the rules of the road.

Pick a side, or a position somewhere in between. But Hispanics are concerned after Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles sent about 47,500 letters in October to inform people with vehicles registered without a driver's license, identification card or Social Security number that they must provide proof of identification and pay $3.50 to have their registration updated.

The information is needed to prove that the vehicles are registered to legal U.S. residents.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in Ohio has objected to the BMV action, which would cancel many of those registrations on Dec. 8.

LULAC claims that Ohio law does not specify that a driver's license or identification card has to be from Ohio, that only the federal government can enforce immigration law, and that Ohio is breaching a contract by canceling the registrations before expiration.

Hispanic leaders in Butler County met recently in Hamilton with the Mexican consul from Indianapolis, Juan M. Solana.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hamilton has 2,542 Latinos, making up 4.3 percent of the total population. There are 119,756 Hispanics in Ohio.

Lordes Leon, owner of Taqueria Mercado, a Mexican restaurant in Fairfield, organized the meeting, which took place at the Fenmont Center in Hamilton. About 30 people attended, including Latino lawyers, entrepreneurs, journalists and union leaders.

The BMV said the letters were not targeted at any one population. Nonetheless, Hispanics are feeling pressure.

"It's hard for Americans to understand," Leon said.

Lindsay Komlanc, media relations director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said the letters were sent to ensure that the documents are reliable and secure. She said no specific population has been targeted.

"We have to follow the policy that we have in place and we will follow the policy we have in place," she said.

Komlanc said 16,000 letters came back as undeliverable.

About 1,900 Ohioans have replied to the letters. Everyone who replied so far has provided a valid Ohio driver's license number, identification number or Social Security number, according to Komlanc.

"We said we were committed to vigorously enforcing"' the law as far as U.S. residency, she said.

Leon said she is worried that Latinos may have to close their businesses, which she said would hurt Ohio's economy.

"We don't know what to do," Leon said. "People are leaving. They are scared."

Leyla Peña, copy editor of La Jornada Latina, a Cincinnati-based newspaper, said the consul was at the meeting for support.

"With all the turmoil ... the local leaders are trying to find possible solutions," Peña said.

She said the letters were an insult to basic human rights and would have a negative impact.

"I feel this is retroactive," Peña said.

Journalist Jorge Benedetti, founder of "La Sabrosita-FM," which helps teach English, said the Hispanic leaders in the community knew this would happen eventually because of the impact of Sept. 11.

"It's an ugly lesson," he said.

Benedetti said Ohio was one of the most liberal states in vehicle registrations before Sept. 11, 2001.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said people were actually coming from other states to get license plates here because the Ohio BMV was not enforcing the policy, which has always been in place.

He said people were getting license plates without knowing the driving rules because they did not have valid licenses.

"There's probably been people killed that didn't have a license," he said.

Now, Jones said, they will have to find another way to get license plates.

"They'll probably just keep driving with them until they get caught," Jones said.


http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 911150349/

She said the letters were an insult to basic human rights and would have a negative impact.

Driving is not a right but a privilege . You do have the RIGHT to leave if you do not like our laws .

Hispanic leaders in Butler County met recently in Hamilton with the Mexican consul from Indianapolis, Juan M. Solana.

What does Mexico have to say about our state laws?

The BMV said the letters were not targeted at any one population. Nonetheless, Hispanics are feeling pressure.

"It's hard for Americans to understand," Leon said.

What the pudding is so hard to understand when our laws, which we Americans respect are being circumvented? And we understand very well that they are demanding that because they are Latino, they are impervious to enforcement of our laws when those laws apply to them. Heck, they have been given plenty of basis for that screwed up belief and they seem to want to take it further.
Stuff it, LULAC!

This kind of stuff is about to cease .

What they are probably mad about is that they can't keep breast feeding off the taxpayer.

They want special privileges above and beyond everyone and that the law does not apply to them, you got another thing coming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlq4udQQj0Y

"What the pudding is so hard to understand when our laws, which we Americans respect are being circumvented? And we understand very well that they are demanding that because they are Latino, they are impervious to enforcement of our laws when those laws apply to them. Heck, they have been given plenty of basis for that screwed up belief and they seem to want to take it further.
Stuff it, LULAC!"


Correct, they have been pushing a selective law enforcement agenda for sometime now, almost like diplomatic immunity for Illegal Aliens. Although i don't agree with the States notion of driving licenses being a privilege, it is a right that is earned.

I wonder who wrote the reviews for taqueria mercado at city search?

http://cincinnati.citysearch.com/profil ... o_inc.html

She said the letters were an insult to basic human rights and would have a negative impact.

WHAT!? How is registering a car a "basic human right? The laws are for everyone. I know its hard to believe, but even Hispanics have to obey the law. .

Originally Posted by butterbean

She said the letters were an insult to basic human rights and would have a negative impact.

WHAT!? How is registering a car a "basic human right? The laws are for everyone. I know its hard to believe, but even Hispanics have to obey the law. .

Because the ignorant uneducated, cannot figure out it is a privilege, not a right, to drive in the USA.

My 12 year old daughter can own a motor vehicle. Even have the title in her name. That does not give her the right to drive it on public streets.

Once again, hispanics are demanding special treatment because so many of them are illegal and have tried to exploit loopholes in our laws to their advantage. When those loopholes get closed the hispanics start screaming human rights violations.

How come no other group seemingly has a problem conforming to this new policy?