illegal aliens

The driver cards at issue in Ballot Measure 88 will likely be accepted by the federal Transportation Security Administration to fly on a plane, according to reporting by the Oregonian and Lars Larson earlier today.

The cards would allow illegal immigrants or other Oregon residents who can't prove citizenship to legally drive a car and hold insurance in their names. A bill allowing it passed in 2013 but was referred to the November ballot. The bill specifically said the cards were to be used for driving privileges only, and it has been widely reported they cannot be used for other purposes.

In fact, the ballot title says they cannot be used to fly.

"The driver card may not be used as identification for air travel, to enter a federal building, to register to vote or to obtain any government benefit requiring proof of citizenship or lawful presence in United States."

It turns out, that may not be true.

The Oregonian's Politifact reporter, Dana Tims, checked with a TSA official, who said the cards would probably be considered valid in an airport.

Nico Melendez, a Western Region TSA spokesman in California, after checking with Oregon officials and administration attorneys, said in a telephone interview: "State-issued driver cards would be acceptable forms of identification for our document-checkers at the airport. At this point, the understanding is that a card like this would be an acceptable form of identification."

Whether an air passenger shows a TSA representative a driver's license or driver card doesn't matter, he said.

"What we are doing is verifying that the person who shows the card is the person who is traveling," Melendez said. "It's not an immigration check."

The TSA website gives a list of acceptable identification, and it does not specifically list drivers cards. However, proof of citizenship is not required for TSA-accepted ID.

For example, it lists a "permanent resident card" as acceptable, and a permanent resident is not necessarily a citizen. The driver cards at issue in Measure 88 would require proof of residence for at least one year as well.

The Oregon DMV provides a list of frequently asked questions, and it defers to the TSA on whether a drivers card would get an Oregonian onto a plane. Read more about TSA says driver cards acceptable for flying in US

Conservative radio talk show host Lars Larson makes no bones about where he stands on Oregon’s Measure 88 – the driver card initiative.

The claim:

He recently sent us a series of emails, which he said verified one of his assertions about the cards: That the Transportation Security Administration will accept "driver privilege" cards as valid identification to board a commercial aircraft.

Could the ballot measure’s own language be wrong? PolitiFact Oregon decided to check.

The analysis:

Several newspaper opinion pieces, including one written by former Hillsboro Police Chief Ron Louie, say driver cards will not be valid for boarding an airplane.

Causa Oregon, a leading immigrant-rights group, agrees. "Ballot Measure 88 clearly states that it will be issued only to grant driving privileges, and prohibits use of the driver cards for anything other than the listed purposes," spokesman Erik Sorensen wrote us in an email...

A TSA spokesman in Oregon wrote to Larson, according to an email he shared with us: "Driver’s licenses are a valid form of ID for TSA."

We contacted a TSA official on our own, Nico Melendez, a Western Region TSA spokesman in California.

Melendez, after checking with Oregon officials and administration attorneys, said in a telephone interview: "State-issued driver cards would be acceptable forms of identification for our document-checkers at the airport. At this point, the understanding is that a card like this would be an acceptable form of identification."

Whether an air passenger shows a TSA representative a driver’s license or driver card doesn’t matter, he said.

"What we are doing is verifying that the person who shows the card is the person who is traveling," Melendez said. "It’s not an immigration check."

The ruling:

We rule Larson’s claim True. Read more about Lars Larson says Oregon drive card could be used to board a plane; is he right?

This week I published a story about Measure 88, a referendum on state law that allows driver cards for Oregonians who can’t prove they’re in the country legally. Read the full story here, but below I address a few of the most-discussed issues surrounding Measure 88 in more detail.

Would people who get driver cards be required to purchase vehicle insurance?
Just like any driver who gets a license from Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles, anyone who wants a driver card will need to provide proof of vehicle insurance for the car they drive for the test.

But they don’t need to own the vehicle in which they take the driving test — it could be a parent’s or girlfriend’s car, for example. And just as it is for any other Oregon driver, there’s no way to force people to retain insurance after they purchase a policy. Any Oregon resident can cancel or renew insurance policies at will.

Has Oregon issued driver cards in the past?
No, but before 2008, undocumented residents could obtain driver licenses with the same rights and privileges as documented residents. In that year, Gov. Ted Kulongowski changed the requirements for obtaining a driver license via an executive order, making it impossible for undocumented residents to legally obtain driving privileges. Many undocumented residents who had licenses prior to 2008 have been losing those privileges as their old licenses expire.

Could Oregon driver cards be used as official identification?
There are a few fine points to dig into here. The Oregon DMV says that driver cards would be issued only to “grant driving privileges.” The cards have not yet been designed, so it’s not clear if they would include obvious language indicating that a driver card is not an official identification document.

As to whether or not the cards could be used to purchase alcohol, open a bank account or to board a plane? The DMV says decisions of whether or not the card could be accepted as identification would be up to each business, bank or the TSA official scrutinizing the card.

Could driver cards be used to get commercial driver licenses?
No, the DMV says they cannot be used to get a CDL, but someone with a driver card could get a Farm Endorsement (which allows for the operation of commercial vehicles for farm related purposes, within 150 miles of a farm).

Who endorses each side of the campaign?
A number of nonprofit organizations, labor unions, businesses and churches support the Safe Roads Yes on 88 campaign. Here’s the full list.

On the other side, Protect Oregon Driver Licenses is endorsed by several state representatives, the Sheriffs of Oregon Political Action Committee, and other local officials. Here’s the full list.

What other states have driver cards?
Ten states in the U.S. allow undocumented residents driving privileges through a driver card or license: Washington, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, and Vermont. Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. also give driving privileges. Read more about A Few Facts About The Driver Card Measure

On May Day last year Governor Kitzhaber wielded a pen in front of 2,000 cheering supporters and signed Senate Bill 833 into law.

The bill allows driver cards for those who can’t prove they’re here legally. It passed the 2013 legislature with bipartisan support.

But in the months following that May Day rally, opponents of the bill gathered just enough signatures to put the driver card issue to voters. The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that the bill affects tens of thousands of Oregonians who can’t currently drive legally.

That’s why Reyna Lopez is at the Saturday farmers market in Salem with a clipboard in hand. Lopez works for Causa, a statewide advocacy group focused on immigrants rights. She’s leading a group of about 15 volunteers canvassing the city to encourage yes votes on Measure 88.

Lopez introduces herself to a woman who is on her way out of the market. A tiny, sleeping baby is strapped to the young mother’s chest, and she’s carrying two pints of bright strawberries.

“Hello,” says Lopez, cheerfully. “Today we’re talking to folks about Measure 88. Have you heard about it at all?

The woman says she doesn’t think so.

“Basically it’s a big human rights issue that’s going to be on the ballot this year,” says Lopez. She describes the measure as a way for people in the immigrant community to be able to drive legally to their jobs or to school.

The woman says she’s supportive and signs a pledge to vote yes while Lopez holds her strawberries for her.

“For me, it’s really about dignity and respect,” says Lopez. “For many families this is a constant worry on their minds. When they’re driving, they’re driving in fear. I just want to make sure that people are able to get where they need to go legally and safely, but also I just want to make sure that people have their basic transportation needs fulfilled.”

Driver cards won’t come with the same privileges as a state-issued driver’s license. It’s not meant to be an official ID, but solely to grant driving privileges. To get the card, drivers must pass the state test and provide proof of vehicle insurance.

Across town in Salem, Cynthia Kendoll is leading a meeting of the group Oregonians For Immigration Reform. The conference room is packed with opponents of the driver card law. She leads the crowd in a chant: “Vote no on 88!”

Kendoll says driver cards would roll out the welcome mat to undocumented workers.

“They chose to break our laws and come here illegally,” says Kendoll. “So when you paint the picture that they’re just coming here to work, they’re also breaking multiple laws. They’re also probably driving, and probably driving uninsured.”

The meeting became momentarily heated when a protester stood up to make a statement during a question-and-answer session.

“I’m an American, too,” said the protester, who spoke with an accent and added that he was an American citizen. Several people in the room shouted at him to leave, and he agreed to go. But as he walked out of the room, he turned back to the crowd and said, “You’re telling me that I’m the other.”

The meeting discussion following the tense exchange wasn’t so much about Measure 88 or whether undocumented people should be able to drive. Rather it was about the broader issue of immigration reform. And that’s really at the heart of this debate for opponents.

“The problem that we have to solve is illegal immigration,” says Kendoll. “Rewarding people that break the law by giving them a drivers card — we think it’s just wrong.”

Supporters of the driver card law say that it’s not up to states to enforce federal immigration law. Everyone needs a safe way to get to work or to school, says Reyna Lopez.

“People are driving; they’re taking the risk,” says Lopez. “The rest of the community is being put at risk when uninsured and unlicensed drivers are on the roads. Whether you’re pro-immigrant or not, it’s about public safety, it’s about safe roads.”

A yes vote on the referendum would uphold state law. A no vote would reverse the driver card law. If Measure 88 passes, Oregon will be the eleventh state in the nation to provide driving privileges to undocumented residents. Read more about Oregonians To Vote On Driver Cards For Undocumented Residents

One of two suspects accused of trying to transport 22 pounds of methamphetamine through Klamath County received a five-year prison sentence Wednesday.

The other suspect’s sentence, whether it involves prison time or probation, has yet to be determined.

Sandra Guillen-Avila, 39, and Jeronimo Novoa-Leal, 24, were arrested in October 2013 by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers after a traffic stop on Highway 97.

During a search of the vehicle utilizing an OSP drug detection dog, 22 pounds of crystal meth and $5,000 in cash was found. The illegal narcotic was stashed in several small bags secreted around the vehicle.

Novoa-Leal had apparently hired Guillen-Avila and paid her $1,000 to drive him from Riverside, Calif., to Washington, where the drugs would be sold. Guillen-Avila is listed as a Quincy, Wash., resident, and Novoa-Leal is noted to have lived in Antioch, Calif.

District Attorney Rob Patridge noted during the Wednesday morning sentencing hearing the bust might be one of the largest single methamphetamine seizures on a state highway in recent Klamath Falls history — maybe even across the state.

“It’s really important, I think, we send a message from this case that we will not tolerate this coming into our community,” Patridge said.

The specifics of whether the suspects would receive probation or prison time became a point of contention during the hearing. While both pleaded guilty this summer, how exactly they should be punished was not finalized until the day of sentencing.

Two pre-sentencing investigations were completed for Novoa-Leal, who pleaded guilty to meth possession and delivery July 16. One investigation recommended only probation, while the second recommended a 60-month prison sentence.

The 60-month (five-year) sentence was imposed by Judge Marci Adkisson. It was noted in court Novoa-Leal was in the country illegally and he would be deported to Mexico upon his release from prison.

Adkisson expressed her objections to anything other than prison for the suspects during the hearing.

“I think they’re liars, I think they’re both liars. Both these people are going to the penitentiary,” Adkisson said. “It’s just over the top that we would even consider not punishing this crime.”

Patridge seconded Adkisson’s statement in a press release.

“Judge Adkisson put an exclamation point on the sentencing this morning by telling the defendant that she knew he was lying and chastised him for failing to take responsibility,” Patridge said. “Judge Adkisson and I are on the same page. If you are going to use Oregon to traffick drugs, we’re not just going to turn you around and send you back home to Mexico on a one way ticket ... we are going to hold you accountable and send you to jail here in Oregon to pay the price for the crimes you have committed while illegally in the United States and here in Oregon.”

The judge did agree to postpone sentencing Guillen-Avila so her defense attorney could present more evidence on her character and her actual involvement in the incident.

Guillen-Avila pleaded guilty to meth possession and delivery, as well as possession of a forged instrument, in July.

“I do not believe she was an innocent victim here,” Adkisson said, allowing her sentencing hearing date to be set for 3 p.m. Oct. 23.

Patridge, in an interview after the hearing, said the street value of the methamphetamine located within the vehicle was more than $1.1 million. He noted, “These are definitely cartel-related drugs.” Read more about Meth smuggler receives 5-year prison sentence

WASHINGTON, DC (September 30, 2014) A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines the potential public safety impact of an executive action to benefit alien traffic offenders, one of the several directives reportedly being considered by the Obama administration. Such a presidential directive would protect tens of thousands of illegal aliens from deportation each year. The analysis found that since 2004, 258,689 aliens whose most serious state or local conviction was a traffic offense were deported by ICE.

These individuals are not “harmless,” as proponents of such a policy have suggested. An amnesty for those “convicted exclusively of traffic crimes” would include those convicted of drunk or drugged driving, vehicular homicide, carjacking, vehicular homicide, and joyriding.

More than half (57%) of deported traffic offenders were convicted of drunk or drugged driving. The number of illegal aliens deported after drunk or drugged driving convictions (as their most serious offense) numbered 22,740 in 2013.

View the full report at: http://cis.org/executive-action-to-benefit-alien-traffic-offenders

In addition, more than half (55%) of the traffic offenders deported by ICE in the last 10 years had been deported at least once before.

“An amnesty to benefit alien traffic offenders undermines the enforcement of immigration law and circumvents Congress with the sole goal of protecting illegal aliens from deportation.," said Dan Cadman, a Center fellow and co-author of the report. "To suggest those convicted of traffic crimes, many of which involved fatalities, are not a threat to public safety or are not worthy of law enforcement resources is a slap in the face to family members who have lost loved ones to reckless illegal alien drivers.”

“Drunk driving is one of the most common violent crimes committed in America, and according to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), one-third of the problem is repeat offenders," noted Jessica Vaughan, the other co-author and the Center's Director of Policy Studies. "It is perfectly appropriate for ICE agents to remove those who not only are here illegally, but also have endangered the public by driving impaired. The Obama administration should not seek political gain by protecting illegal aliens who are a menace on our roadways.”

Key Findings:
An Obama administration executive action that protects from deportation those aliens convicted exclusively of traffic offenses potentially would shield thousands of dangerous drivers, including many convicted of drunk driving, from deportation each year judging by actual deportation records.

Traffic crimes include a wide spectrum of offenses and crimes, ranging from drunk or drugged driving, to vehicular homicide, to joyriding, to improper lane changes, to driving without a license or insurance. Many of these are serious, involve fatalities, and put the public at risk. Proponents of such an executive action should be pressed to define exactly what offenses are meant or intended by the phrase.

More than half (57 percent) of all aliens deported from 2004 to 2013 whose most serious conviction was a traffic-related crime were convicted of drunk or drugged driving.

Other traffic-related criminal convictions of deported aliens included: carjacking, hit-and-run, vehicular homicide/manslaughter, transporting alcohol, vehicle theft, joyriding, and license offenses.

The majority of all traffic-related crimes in the 10-year dataset were committed by adult male aliens (from late teens to mid-30s in age) who entered the country without inspection across the border, and therefore were almost certainly driving without a license and uninsured.

Most aliens deported after convictions for traffic crimes had other aggravating circumstances that weighed on their case. More than half (55 percent) of aliens deported from 2004 to 2013 after traffic-related convictions had been deported from the country at least once before. (Re-entry after deportation is a felony.) In 2013, 70 percent of traffic offenders were prior-deportees.

An even larger percentage (60 percent) of aliens convicted of lesser traffic offenses (a subset of traffic crimes) were prior deportees Read more about Executive Amnesty for Traffic Offenders?

At a time of heightened concern about U.S. immigration policy and the failure of Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform, it may seem at face value that it would be beneficial to allow undocumented immigrants the privilege of driving.

As we read about Oregon’s proposed driver card for those who cannot prove citizenship, it’s important to note that the card serves only as evidence of driving privileges — it doesn’t confirm identity or age as typical drivers licenses do.

Proponents argue this will grant those here illegally the opportunity to purchase insurance and provide a regulatory framework in the case of an accident.

But let’s get back to something we mentioned earlier. Driving isn’t a right; it’s a privilege. Granting undocumented immigrants the authority to drive, supporters say, will make the roads safer because the immigrants will purchase insurance.

While that’s a nice goal, Oregon would be doing a lot in the hopes that this happens. In New Mexico, uninsured rates didn’t noticeably decrease when the state began granting drivers cards to those who cannot prove their citizenship.

We cannot ignore the fact that driving is commonly tied to the ability to work, and while it may be the goal of Measure 88 supporters to help immigrants get to work, this law would instead perpetuate the use of undocumented immigrant labor.

Our nation is founded on immigration. We, as we always have been, are a melting pot. Before we allow undocumented immigrants the privilege to drive, though, we need to instead reevaluate our federal immigration policy. Because this law will encourage the hiring of undocumented workers with only a thin hope of actually helping public safety, we urge you to vote no on Measure 88. Read more about Measure 88 should be voted down