Thread: Mexican drivers won't face jail for traffic violations

http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 07001/1001

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Mexican drivers won't face jail for traffic violations

By Louie Gilot
El Paso Times

On El Paso roads, Juarenses should be treated like El Pasoans, the city says.

Police can put some out-of-state drivers in jail if they don't have the money to pay traffic tickets right away, but the city last month asked police to make a permanent exception for Juarenses.

City manager Joyce Wilson Wilson says she was reminded of an old interstate compact that allows police to take Juarez drivers to municipal court right after a traffic violation, and to jail if drivers can't pay right away.

The attempted revival of the compact led to a hubbub in the Mexican press and to the reaction by the city of El Paso.

The city now seeks to strike the right balance between making Juarenses feel welcome so they continue shopping in El Paso and making sure they pay the traffic tickets they get while shopping in El Paso.

Mexican drivers are responsible for about $5 million for about 24,000 unpaid tickets, police said. This is only a portion of the total $42 million owed to the city for about 200,000 outstanding tickets. The great majority of those tickets are owed by El Paso drivers, police said.

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.

Police can put some out-of-state drivers in jail if they don't have the money to pay traffic tickets right away, but the city last month asked police to make a permanent exception for Juarenses.

If they are upset about the policy, the government of Juarez can post bail.
We all know that the suspected violators are about as likely to show up in court as suspected illegals are to show up for immigration hearings.

So, in El Paso, claim to be Mexican. Get a Mexican driver's license.

Once again, Americans are held to the law and illegal are not.