Posted on 11/24/2011 12:39:25 AM PST by thecodont
Authorities in Alabama dropped charges Wednesday against a German Mercedes-Benz executive who was arrested under the state's stringent new illegal-immigration law after a police officer caught him driving without required identification.
Last week, a Tuscaloosa police officer pulled over Detlev Hager, 46, for driving a rental Kia with no license plates. After Hager was only able to produce German identification documents, an unacceptable form of identification under the new law, he was arrested, Police Chief Steve Anderson said.
The Alabama law, considered the nation's strictest, includes a provision requiring police conducting traffic stops to check the residency status of people they suspect of being illegal immigrants.
An associate of Hager's was able to retrieve his passport and a German driver's license, which led to executive being released soon after the arrest. Hager then presented the documents in municipal court and the charges were dropped, Anderson said Wednesday.
Prior to the law going into effect, drivers caught without a driver's license were written a citation and let go, Anderson said. Now, officers must arrest a person if they lack proper identification, turning a routine and quick matter into a more time-consuming one.
"It's going to take up a lot of the limited resources we have to dedicate to problems in the city," Anderson said.
Critics of the law contend that Hager's arrest is indicative of the measure's unintended consequences and could discourage foreign businesses from locating in the state.
Last month, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked portions of the law, including provisions requiring public schools to check the immigration status of students and allowing authorities to file misdemeanor charges against immigrants who are caught without documents proving their legal status.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Or maybe, since you're a Kraut, used to this sort of BS, so you don't realize you have a tort.
Oh well, at least they can’t claim it’s an EEEEvil racial law.
He was a foreigner caught without proper documentation.
Sounds like the law worked fine to me.
Sounds like the law worked fine to me.
Exactly.
The foreigner in question could have easily avoided any of that by carrying the documents he is legally bound to have on his person.
Follow the law, why is this too much to ask of foreigners?
That is precisely what would happen here in Japan as a guest foreigner, i.e. somebody long term other than a tourist, unless you had a really good story and a character reference, like the mayor of the town sitting next to you. The Japanese Police WOULD detain you and question you. I am telling you, the US media is making this out to be “strict”. This is standard procedure in most countries of the world when you are a guest and on a visa, you have to have that damned thing with you at ALL TIMES. BIG DEAL!! /not
Los Angeles times sniveling about immigration laws because Californis has none.Yet the times seldom report about a murder a day in LA by wetbacks.
I worked at a manufacturing facility that had about 1500 employees. We brought about 200 Mexicans from our plant in Tampico to the US, totally legally. It took ICE several months to realize that the employees were legal, and they would raid us every couple of weeks. If one of the workers did not have their documentation ON THEIR PERSON, ICE would detain them until we could prove that they were legal. It’s the law; you must have your documentation with you at all times if you are here on a work visa. Why should a Mexican welder be any different that a German executive in the eyes of the law?
To me the most embarrassing part of this story is an executive of Mercedes-Benz being caught driving a rental Kia.
Misleading ...the law wasn’t dropped, he provided the documents necessary and was then let go. Sounds like the media wants to make it sound like the court was being biased based on the persons nationality. Another way to say that Alabama is being discriminatory with the law.
Yes, and being asked by an American policeman “Your papers please” schnell!
If I found myself in a police encounter without proper ID in Deutschland, I would be in a jam. Having spent quite a bit of time in the (then) FRG, my personal observations can attest that the Polezei (at least back then) would typically only ask nicely *once*. After that, it was your @$$ paying for your stupidity...
I don’t see anything objectionable in this report. The law worked like a *charm*. Hager was properly challenged and then arrested when he failed to adequately comply. His charges were dropped when he satisfied the court.
I just don’t see any problem here.
Matter of fact, I can’t think of any country I’ve ever traveled in or through that would simply allow me, as an obvious non-native, to walk if I couldn’t ID myself with an officially recognized document/passport/ID card bearing the appropriate stamps/travel auth/etc.
UNTIL RECENTLY: America is the only place I’ve been where cops would have to come up with some other P.C. besides “No ID” if they challenged me walking down the street. Without a D.L., I’d typicallly just get a ticket and not be allowed to drive away, but I ‘d be allowed to call a licensed driver. Any other country I’ve been through — I’d have hands laid on me and not be able to just walk away without some grief to one extent or another.
Nowadays, our wide-open, “walk across” borders are only as secure as our neighboring country’s “port of entry” checks.
I don’t mean that we should emulate those other countries; but there has to be some common-sense security-minded precaution available in these situations. I think the AL law is (so far) proving itself both reasonable and prudent.
I’m waiting for Obama’s relatives living in gov’t housing to be sent home.
The Germans must be utterly perplexed by this.
“He vas mitout his papers, und you let him go? Anarchy!”
Germans are renowned for having strictly enforced regulations and laws for everything. In triplicate, with all required bureaucratic stamps.
My favorite German law sets forth a 500 Euro fine for stepping on the third rail of a streetcar. This works out to almost exactly 1 Euro for each Ampere of electricity that will pass through your body when you do so. Which does not, I might note, render the fine void.
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