Law cracks down on license-less driving

Found in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Written by Mary Lou Pickel
Posted on 2008-05-31

05/31/08

Driving without a license could put illegal immigrants a step closer to deportation in Georgia.

A bill passed this session by the General Assembly requires a minimum two-day jail sentence on the first conviction of driving without a license. The bill also directs jailers to check the nationality and legal status of those convicted and to report those here illegally to immigration officials for deportation.

“This bill addresses a serious problem in Georgia, which is people driving without ever having been issued a driver’s license,” said state Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw), sponsor of Senate Bill 350.

The measure, which takes effect July 1, also makes it a felony to drive without a license on the fourth conviction in a five-year period.

It gives a pass to anyone who gets a Georgia driver’s license and presents it to the judge at his or her court hearing.

“If you are legally entitled to obtain a license and you just don’t have one —- if you come to court with a valid license and it’s your first offense —- your case is dismissed,” Wiles explained.

“People are dying as a result of these drivers,” and the law is necessary for public safety, he said.

Cpl. David Schiralli of the Gwinnett County Police Department could not say what effect the new law would have on jail bookings in Gwinnett.

It’s possible that illegal immigrants would have a great number of repeat violations because they have no way to legally obtain a Georgia driver’s license, Schiralli acknowledged.

“Illegals who work have to get to work one way or another,” Schiralli said. “You’d think they probably know they’re breaking the law to get there.”

Those opposed to the law say it will disproportionately affect people who look foreign.

“The law creates an incentive for racial profiling,” said Elise Shore, head of the Atlanta office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “You can’t tell if someone is driving without a license just by looking.”

The law will lead to more traffic stops for minor offenses, Shore said. “We had a guy with masking tape flapping on the top of his truck, and he got stopped for that,” she said.

Wiles police will still need a constitutional reason to stop someone.

Adelina Nicholls, executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, said it could cause people to stay home because of deportation fears, said. HERE