Posted on 03/04/2006 5:45:12 AM PST by devane617
TAMPA - Florida law bars undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses, but in countless cases that doesn't keep them off the road.
Arrests of unlicensed drivers by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies rose 71 percent from 2001 to 2005. The agency doesn't track how many of those drivers were undocumented, but anecdotal evidence suggests those numbers are rising as more immigrants arrive.
A high-profile accident is drawing attention to the issue: A Tampa police detective died in a crash Feb. 25 when one such driver ran a red light and plowed into the detective's city-owned car, the sheriff's office has said. The man ran from the scene but was apprehended shortly thereafter.
Some say changing the law would decrease hit-and-run accidents, require undocumented immigrants to learn the rules of the road and allow them to insure their cars. The other side says it's illogical to give those in the country illegally the right to drive.
As they debate, the arrests keep coming. On Wednesday, four days after the fatal crash, Hillsborough deputies arrested 23 unlicensed drivers - farm pickers, laborers and construction workers - who listed their birthplaces in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. They were arrested in Dover, Plant City and Seffner.
Arrest records don't state whether the drivers are citizens, but arrest locations and occupations offer clues.
"Obviously, there are instances of undocumented [workers] not having licenses," sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said. "It's hard to gauge. Patrols in eastern Hillsborough have had a problem."
On Feb. 25, the sheriff's office says, Jose Espinosa ran a red light at Interstate 75 and Gibsonton Road and crashed into a car driven by Juan Serrano, a Tampa police detective and Mayor Pam Iorio's driver.
Espinosa, who has a Mexican driver's license, was charged with DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Records show his blood alcohol level was 0.164 percent - more than twice the level at which Florida law presumes a person is intoxicated.
Out of necessity, Espinosa drove from Gibsonton to construction jobs, his sister-in-law said. He shared a trailer with five other men. At the time of the accident, he was driving back to the trailer after helping a friend with a flat tire.
Statewide, there are an estimated 700,000 undocumented immigrants of driving age.
Nationally, an estimated 2 million unlicensed and uninsured drivers take to the road because of immigration restrictions, according to Hinda Seif, a visiting assistant professor teaching labor studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
"It's a symptom of inaction," said Seif, who tracked the license issue as a University of California-San Diego researcher.
"The purpose of a driver's license is to ensure highway safety," Seif said. "If that's the case, how can we do our best? Some state laws are interfering with that."
Legislation supported by Gov. Jeb Bush last year would have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. It died in committee. A similar bill died in 2003.
State Sen. Jim Sebesta, a St. Petersburg Republican and chairman of the transportation committee, said no such bills are proposed for the session beginning Tuesday.
"We have to wait and see what happens," he said. "There are good arguments, merits made for both sides of the issue.
"Do you allow lawbreakers legal licenses on one side, and on the other side, if you do allow them a driver's license, they can buy car insurance."
Meanwhile, the problem continues.
"I know that there are people driving without insurance and license," said Javier Izaguirre, operations manager at Beth-El Mission, which helps the farmworker population in Wimauma. "It goes on, and there are different scenarios. People have to go to work, and they try to find a way."
SHERIFF'S OFFICE ARRESTS The number of unlicensed drivers arrested by Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies steadily has increased:
Year Arrests
2001 2,623
2002 3,402
2003 3,916
2004 4,462
2005 4,478
BTTT
I have had those sentiments quite strongly myself.
If the American people had any stones, they would have 18 wheelers waiting at the white house and capitol hill waiting to round them (politicians) all up and hauling their collective a**es out of office............traitors all!!!
I totally agree with you. Although I would probably let Tancredo hang around. Most of the people at the capitol hate him so he's doing something right.
Yes, I read that post. Upsetting to say the least.
" [all] later released after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Department refused to deal with them."
ping
Pam and my wife are acquaintances. This just devastated Pam, she was heartbroken. Not only was he her bodyguard and driver, he was her friend and confidant.
Pity she is a Democrat and dines with $cientology cult representatives like Tom Cruise.
Rules,laws and auto insurance are only for us stupid gringos.
What can Bush do? how about congress what are they doing see how it works.
That'll really raise you blood alcohol level. Where is MADD demanding that you shouldn't drive after fixing a flat?
They've been depending on our want-to-believe for quite some time; I wonder if they are prepared for the blowback from their betrayal.
For starters, he can direct federal agencies to enforce the law.
You have no evidence that alcohol was the cause of the accident. The cause was reckless driving which is caused by many factors, including a lack of a sense of responsibility.
Of course coming illegally, haveing no license and having no insurance are also evidence of a lack of repsonsibility.
Most of todays illegals are opportunists, not responsible people coming to America legally to become good citizens.
I live in Arizona and have watched the problem for over fifty years.
We need Mexico fixed, border enforcement and deportation and start over.
Oh, I agree with you on the border problem. We should put the military down there and shoot anyone that tries to sneak across. Maybe some UAVs and land mines, too, for good measure. We need to DEFEND OUR COUNTRY!
However, regarding your statement about me having no evidence that alcohol was the cause of the accident, Florida state law disagrees with you. The defendant, Mr. Espinosa, was operating a motor vehicle on the public highways of Florida and had a BAC more than twice the limit of .08. That is prima facie evidence of DUI in Florida, as it probably is in every other state in the US. That fact ALONE makes Mr. Espinosa fully culpable in the accident.
I wish a new president were in the White House.
To anyone who feels this way.... What difference do any of you think it would make? This situation has been going on for years, way before Bush came into office and now you want to blame someone? We have no one to blame but, ourselves!
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