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CASA Sues Maryland MVA, Demands DL for Illegals
Tiny Human Ferret wrote:
> http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...1,929209.story > > <quote in-part> > > MVA sued over licensing barriers > Agency accused of imposing illegal burdens > on immigrants seeking driver's licenses > > By Sumathi Reddy > Sun reporter > Originally published November 16, 2005 > > A statewide immigrant advocacy group filed a > lawsuit yesterday against the Maryland > Motor Vehicle Administration, charging it with > creating illegal barriers to immigrants trying > to obtain driver's licenses. > > The lawsuit - filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court > on behalf of 13 immigrants - contends that the > agency's actions violate state and federal laws. > > Immigrants and members of CASA of Maryland held up signs > and chanted alternately in English and Spanish > while announcing the suit against the MVA, > the state Department of Transportation and its top officials. > > The "lawlessness" of the MVA, said Steven Smitson, > legal director of CASA, at a news conference > in front of the MVA's Glen Burnie headquarters, > "has caused serious economic harm to the Latino > and immigrant community." > > MVA officials declined to comment on the lawsuit > without being presented with a copy of it, but > a spokesman defended many of the policies attacked at the news conference. > > "Our requirements for licensing any individual is > basically the same," said Buel Young. "We require > proof of identity, proof of age and proof of Maryland residency > for any individual. The difference is if you are > an American citizen, you have a birth certificate" > and other documents. > > "For someone that's an immigrant, they present > a myriad of documents ... and we have to > determine the authenticity of these documents. > That can require some time," Young said. > > Maryland is currently one of 10 states that allows > foreign-born residents -- regardless of their immigration status -- > to receive driver's licenses. But CASA officials > accuse the MVA of failing to follow its own policies > by routinely and unlawfully denying immigrants > driver's licenses and permits. > > The lawsuit contends that the MVA > treats immigrants differently by creating a cumbersome process > that requires them to schedule appointments > to apply for licenses and limits the offices they can go to, > causing them sometimes to wait months and > travel long distances. > > Smitson referred to "horror stories" that have > emerged from driver's license education forums > CASA has held with more than 15,000 immigrants > across the state, including: > > -- Immigrants who have had to wait months for MVA appointments. > > -- Appointments at which no interpreters were available. > > -- Documents proving residency and identification that were unfairly > rejected. > > -- MVA employees who have called federal immigration officials. > > [ Those employees need a RAISE! --klaatu] > > The common thread in all the stories, Smitson said, > is that they ended with an immigrant being > denied a driver's license, with no recourse for an appeal. > > Two of the lawsuit's plaintiffs spoke at the news conference. > > Margaret Mengly Peredo Echalar, a 23-year-old Laurel resident, > > [ Of unspecified immigration status... --klaatu] > > said she moved to the United States 3 1/2 years ago > from Bolivia to go to college and get a good job. > But her inability to get a driver's license made it > too difficult to travel. "I lost the best job and > I can't go to school," said Echalar. > > Echalar said that after repeatedly going to > different MVA offices, she was denied a learner's permit > and accused of identification fraud > because the name she was going to use did not exactly match > the one on her passport. > > [ Another MVA employee deserves a raise! --klaatu] > > She said employees called immigration officials. > Young said the MVA does not call immigration officials > unless the equipment to determine the authenticity > of foreign documents is broken. > > [ Or, perhaps, if it looks like someone's trying to do an identity-theft > or document fraud? --klaatu] > > Echalar had to quit a secretarial job in Washington > and now works at a restaurant. She is unable to start school > at Howard Community College, where she hopes to study psychology. > > CASA officials noted that the issue affects legal > and undocumented immigrants alike. > > Jose V. Hernandez Araujo, also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, > is a green card holder who came to the United States > from El Salvador 18 years ago. > > Speaking in Spanish at the news conference, Araujo said > he held a New York driver's license. But when he moved > to Maryland and went to the MVA, his proof of residency > was rejected and both his New York license and Maryland > identification cards were confiscated. > > "So here I am now. And I don't have my New York license, > and I don't have my ID card, and I'm just waiting," > Araujo said. "I think there are many others like me." > > </quote> > > > Maryland has an estimated 200,000 illegal aliens, with the majority > originating in spanish-speaking countries in Central America and South > America. We should note in passing that according to a recent statement > to _the Washington Post_, high-ranking personnel with the Washington DC > Embassy of El Salvador declare that there are probably twice that many > from El Salvador alone. > > Maryland is one of the very few remaining States of the US which allows > resident foreign nationals to get a State DL or ID. Maryland's State > Legislature has, in recent years, seen the introduction of a variety of > legislation designed to make the State less of a well-known "magnet" and > "sanctuary State". > > Various Delegates to the State Legislative Assembly have gone on record > with their statements that they would "drag their feet" in voting > compliance with the Federal mandate of the REAL ID Act which is already > law. Many of the documents required by the Maryland Motor Vehicle > Administration are mandated directly by the REAL ID Act. > > CASA of Maryland, a notorious "pro-immigrant" front-group loosely > associated with the radical socialist Chavez administration of Venezuela > (itself associated with Communist Cuba's Castro regime), appears to be > trying to sue Maryland's MVA into noncompliance with Federal Law. > > We should applaud the MVA for taking steps to be in compliance with > Federal law, and taking those steps successfully within their limited > budget, making a total lie out of the statements of several Montgomery > County Democratic Party Delegates, in which they categorized REAL ID as > (paraphrased) "a hideously expensive unfunded mandate with immense and > perhaps unsurmounted technological hurdles". Yet somehow the Maryland > MVA is already partially in compliance with REAL ID by taking strict > measures to assure the validity of the documents on the basis of which > they issue the Maryland Driver's License and Non-Driver ID. > > Marylanders can breathe more easily knowing that their driver's license > isn't considered "a pushover" and "eminently exploitable with just the > least little bit of fraud" as was Virginia DL, which was chosen by the > 9/11 hijackers because of Virginia DMV's lax regulations and requirements. > > It should be a matter of pride to Marylanders that a socialist front > group is so desperate to sue to make the Maryland DL into a "well known > security gap". But it's time for the citizens of Maryland to get on the > phone to their Delegates and demand that they pass legislation funding > accelerated full compliance with the Federal REAL ID Act. > > Maryland could easily become a complete laughingstock and once-again > deserve the label of "most corrupt State government" if it allows > commies fronting for Cuba to sue the State into noncompliance with > Federal law. > > > > > -- > The incapacity of a weak and distracted government may > often assume the appearance, and produce the effects, > of a treasonable correspondence with the public enemy. > --Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" > nam primi in omnibus proeliis oculi vin****ur. > ================================================== ================ > "Sometimes, Evil drives a mini-van." > --Desperate Housewives If we had a government worth a **** these illegal alien ****skins would be detention centers that would make the accomadations for terrorists seem palatial! Jay |
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