Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Counties find loopholes to issue license plates to illegal aliens

…Noncompliance with laws that touch on immigration is “rampant,” said D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, an organization opposed to illegal immigration. “This is a brilliant example,” he said. —
“The contempt that these public officials have for the law is a danger to public safety,” King said…

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Counties find loopholes to issue license plates to illegal immigrants
By MARY LOU PICKEL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/25/08

Illegal immigrants can still get a license plate in Fulton County despite a state law that tightened access to tags.

The year-old law has made it very difficult for immigrants without visas to register cars in most counties because they need a Georgia driver’s license first. To get a license, they must show a valid visa.

Fulton has interpreted the state law differently, leading to more lenient requirements.

“We’re not interested in knowing whether they’re illegal or not,” Fulton County Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner Angie Lewis said. “That’s not our role. We’re registering cars.”

Lewis points to an exemption to the law that says a “nonresident” can use a foreign driver’s license, or a license from another state, to get a tag. The county requires the person to have a utility bill in his or her name that proves residency in Fulton County, Lewis said.

Noncompliance with laws that touch on immigration is “rampant,” said D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, an organization opposed to illegal immigration. “This is a brilliant example,” he said.

“The contempt that these public officials have for the law is a danger to public safety,” King said. His group is named for a young Georgian killed in a car crash in which an illegal immigrant was charged.

Tax commissioners in four metro counties have different interpretations of the law, known as Senate Bill 38, which went into effect July 1, 2007. Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties have interpreted the law to mean there’s no getting around the need for a Georgia license.

Still, there are loopholes.

In DeKalb County, steady numbers of illegal immigrants register themselves as corporations to get around the law. That works because a corporation does not need to show a Georgia driver’s license. That’s not as easy to do in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, which require a county business license to prove the company exists.

Despite worries that the law would harm tax collection by denying tags to large groups of people, motor vehicle tax revenues increased in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb from 2006 to 2007.

The biggest inconsistency in the state law’s interpretation applies to people who are nonresidents or dual residents. Immigrants can fall into this category, as well as students, military personnel and “snow birds” who own a condo in Georgia to make it easy to visit the grandchildren.

“Residency is a sticky wicket,” said Stewart Manley, manager of Cobb County’s tag offices.

Fulton uses a broad exemption, which applies to all nonresidents 16 years and older who have a valid license from their home state or country.

“If an immigrant has a driver’s license from another state or another country, they are eligible to receive a tag, according to this law,” Lewis said.

“We believe we are following the letter of the law,” she said.

The sponsor of the law, state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), says Fulton “is following most of the letters, but they’re forgetting the last few letters.”

Rogers acknowledges that the exemptions are confusing. “Many people quit reading after the first line,” he said.

Rogers tightened up the language during this year’s legislative session to make it clear that anyone who does not otherwise qualify for a Georgia license (such as an illegal immigrant) is not qualified for an exemption. The changes are part of Senate Bill 488 and won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2009.

In Gwinnett County, tag office workers explain to customers that they must have a Georgia driver’s license or ID card to get a tag, said Anthony Buffum, director of the department of motor vehicles for Gwinnett’s tax commissioner.

“Especially people who have just moved here — they follow the state procedure. They go get a license,” Buffum said.

Senate Bill 38 closed a window that previously allowed newcomers to get a tag before getting a Georgia driver’s license. Motorists have 30 days to get a Georgia driver’s license after moving to the state. Now they must get a license before the tag. Previously, a driver could register a car with an out-of-state or international license and worry about getting the Georgia license later.

“Part of the reason that Senate Bill 38 came about is because people were coming in [for a tag] and saying that their tires were still hot, but actually, they had been here much longer,” Manley said.

Some counties, including Gwinnett and Cobb, will honor exemptions for out-of-state students and military personnel, such as those stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. In rare cases Cobb may allow an exemption for nonresidents, Manley said.

“Let’s say they’re a legal resident of Florida, but they’re a pilot and they fly through Atlanta a lot and want a car here. We’ll have them put their reasons in writing. It’s a rare thing,” Manley said.

Some illegal immigrants have found creative ways to register their cars.

In DeKalb County the number of tag applications for corporate cars has shot from zero to about 30 percent of the tag and title business in the last year, said Brent Bennett, director of vehicle registrations for Dekalb’s tax commission office. A corporation does not need a Georgia driver’s license for a tag. The Georgia Office of the Secretary of State is aware of the issue and wants legislation to tighten the loophole, office spokesman Matt Carrothers said.

Meanwhile, tag and title companies charge hundreds of dollars to help file the corporate paperwork.

Araceli Rubiños, a clerk at Seguros America on Buford Highway, says her company charges $365 to register someone as a corporation with the secretary of state and obtain the tag. Seguros America does the deal for residents of DeKalb and Fulton counties only. “All of our clients are people who don’t have licenses in Georgia,” Rubiños said.