Thread: OH-Latinos face no fallout for tags

Latinos face no fallout for tags
Monday, January 18, 2010 3:11 AM
By Stephanie Czekalinski and Randy Ludlow


Local Latinos' fears that illegal immigrants would face closer police scrutiny in the wake of last month's cancellation of nearly 20,000 vehicle registrations have been unfounded.

A Dispatch analysis of Franklin County jail records found that the number of arrested Latinos transferred to federal authorities for deportation fell dramatically from an unusually high number last year.

Fourteen Latinos booked into the jail between Dec. 8 and Jan. 8 were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Columbus. That's compared with 75 during the same period a year ago.

Latinos feared the fallout when the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles revoked the questionable and potentially fraudulent registrations of 42,503 vehicles statewide on Dec. 9 because the vehicle owners hadn't proved legal U.S. residency.

Some believed that undocumented immigrants would fall prey to racial profiling and police targeting of Latino drivers, leading to high numbers of deportations. But only four or five of the recent arrests appear related to invalid license plates.

Statewide, there have been significantly fewer arrests for misdemeanor and traffic offenses leading to deportations, said Corey A. Price, Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant field director in Columbus.

"It's fine by us, because we want the worst of the worst anyway," he said.

Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County sheriff's office said: "I can guarantee you, we are not driving around profiling Hispanics. We aren't out profiling people because of their registration."

Deputies have impounded about 20 sets of license plates since the bulk cancellation of registrations, said Cpl. Bill Cox. Nearly 20,000 of the canceled registrations came from Franklin County.

Deputies have no way of knowing whether an undocumented immigrant registered his car in someone else's name. But anyone driving without a license can be ticketed or arrested, he said.

Joseph Mas, a Columbus lawyer, said the slight number of arrests and deportations demonstrate that undocumented immigrants are being cautious while coping with the loss of their driving privileges.

Some have abandoned the wheel for rides with friends, buses and work-arranged shuttle vans. Others are paying up to $500 to transfer the titles of their vehicles to legal residents so they can obtain license plates and keep driving.

"The great irony is that I have been advocating for the past two years (to undocumented immigrants) to embrace the concept of not driving" while awaiting political and legislative changes to permit them to stay legally in the United States, Mas said.

He contends that the BMV's move amounts to an illegal state foray into immigration status, which is a federal responsibility. "This is the institutionalization of racial profiling. Now, (police) don't need to see in the car anymore. They can run the plate."

The League of United Latin American Citizens is appealing a ruling by a Franklin County magistrate that upheld the BMV's revocation of vehicle registrations.

Jose, a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant from Honduras who came to Columbus more than three years ago, said he hasn't seen police taking aim at Latinos. But the cancellation of registrations has made it difficult for many illegal immigrants to get to and from work. Fearing deportation, he asked not to be identified by his last name.

So-called runners, legal U.S. residents who charge large fees to process Ohio vehicle registrations for undocumented immigrants, have adapted to meet the needs of a community desperate to stay on the road. Signs are popping up in Latino neighborhoods advertising their new services.

"We take out plates from the states of Mississippi, Illinois and from right here in Ohio," said a sign in Spanish taped outside a Latino market on Sullivant Avenue.

"Don't be left without the ability to drive! We process plates from your neighbor state so that you can continue with your daily life without having problems with your plates and registration," said another. The sign showed two license plates -- one from Ohio and one from Indiana.

Dispatch information specialist Julie Albert analyzed data for this story.

rludlow@dispatch.com
sczekalinski@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/co ... cs&sid=101

So-called runners, legal U.S. residents who charge large fees to process Ohio vehicle registrations for undocumented immigrants, have adapted to meet the needs of a community desperate to stay on the road. Signs are popping up in Latino neighborhoods advertising their new services.

"We take out plates from the states of Mississippi, Illinois and from right here in Ohio," said a sign in Spanish taped outside a Latino market on Sullivant Avenue.

"Don't be left without the ability to drive! We process plates from your neighbor state so that you can continue with your daily life without having problems with your plates and registration," said another. The sign showed two license plates -- one from Ohio and one from Indiana.

That is illegal - to defraud a government agency, to falsify information, to knowingly allow an unlicensed driver to obtain plates in your name, and to aid and abet known illegal aliens.

So why is this not being stopped? This is outrageous!

Some have abandoned the wheel for rides with friends, buses and work-arranged shuttle vans. Others are paying up to $500 to transfer the titles of their vehicles to legal residents so they can obtain license plates and keep driving.

There should be a requirement on the number of registered vehicles a person can have. This is how the system is broken within the license issuance in all states. Every time I go to license's office I see some of the same folks changing titles. I wonder if they are traitors by aiding and abetting illegal aliens. And the North Carolina License System are ignoring the problem before their eyes.