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
ZERO IMMERGRATION FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS.
Well said Starbase. The President's failure on immigration will have a huge effect on Republicans, and conservatives in general, in the future. I have been "post-Bush" for the past year or so, and until I see the congress make significant changes, I will NOT be voting for a Republican.
Bush is to blame for drunk driving now, too? Maybe Ms Kopechne's family could file a wrongful death suit against him to collect for some of their pain and suffering.
I think that's a great idea. The democrats have such a better track record on immigration. If they raise our taxes enough, the illegals won't want to come here anymore and then we'll have all those jobs available that the illegals are always taking. Thanks.
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