Ringleader in immigrant driving certificate case gets 46 months(oooops, they forgot "illegal")

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The ringleader of an underground network that shuttled illegal Hispanic immigrants from New Jersey to Tennessee to secure driver's certificates using fake residency documents was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months in federal prison.

"I did not force anybody to come to this state to get a license," Zeneida Concepcion Rivera, 55, pleaded through a Spanish interpreter. "I was not doing business with these people, I was helping them."

The Lakewood, N.J., resident insisted she was providing a service to hardworking undocumented workers who needed one of Tennessee's unique driver's certificates so they could legally drive to their construction jobs and support their families. The cards verify eligibility to drive in the state, but are not valid identification.

But U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips was unconvinced, noting testimony that she charged $1,500 to $2,000 per certificate.

"Quite frankly, I think it is egregious what (Rivera) has done," he said. "She has been making a lot of money from these transactions."

Rivera's arrest last July along with six of the more than 100 illegal immigrants she brought to Knoxville over the past two years was the first of three major license conspiracies uncovered in Tennessee, leading the state to suspend the certificate program last month.

Things are getting back on track in Tennessee!:

Bill would require drivers to be American citizens
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 By Clint Confehr

Drivers will have to be American citizens to get a Tennessee driver's license, according to a proposed law recommended by the state House Transportation Committee, state Rep. Curt Cobb reported Tuesday night.

"The certificate program has not been working," Cobb said of an alternate method of documenting drivers who aren't citizens. "So, the committee decided we should do something before we know what the federal government will do."

The committee's recommendation came as President Bush has reopened America's debate on immigration and as demonstrations are being conducted in major cities across the nation with one anticipated in Nashville this afternoon.

One effect of the proposed law is the expiration of driving certificates.

"After July, certificates will expire as of the expiration date on the certificates," Cobb said. "When it expires, it's over."

That would force the bearer of the certificate to make plans to do something or face the prospect of charges for driving without a license.

"The certificate program flew through the House and Senate," the Shelbyville Democrat said of the way the program was enacted. "At the time, everybody said, 'They're here anyway. At least they'll know the rules of the road.'

"It didn't work," Cobb said.

Furthermore, corruption at driver testing centers was discovered and the integrity of the system has been challenged, Cobb said.

With a unanimous vote in the House Transportation Committee, the bill supported by Cobb has been forwarded to the Calendar and Rules Committee as it's making its way to the House floor, he said.

"Driving is a privilege," he continued. "God blessed me to be a U.S. Citizen."

Reflecting a sentiment from the committee, Cobb said, "If you want to come over here for privileges and benefits, you ought to go through the system.

"But," he noted, "it's up in the air nationally."

So, as the White House and Congress appear to be taking steps that would "water down" the system that leads to U.S. citizenship, state lawmakers apparently want to influence the system before federal action is taken.

Meanwhile, the Bedford County Commissioners' request for a private act to create an adequate facilities tax is getting attention in this second year of the 104th session of the General Assembly.

The request was taken from the floor of the House last year when state Rep. Charles Sergeant (R-Franklin) spoke up for his constituents who opposed more taxes. Williamson County commissioners, and those of other counties, like Bedford, sought authorization to impose an adequate facilities tax on new construction.

While it faced opposition by an anti-tax lobby last year, now the counties' requested bills are being linked to immigration issues.

"We've been impacted," Cobb said of additional residents in Bedford County, regardless of where they've come from. "And we have to provide services like education for them. The U.S. Supreme Court said so.

"I don't blame anybody for wanting to be here, but ... it's a burden on the taxpayers," he said.

Having been dormant for about a year, the counties' requests for new taxation authority appears to be gaining attention and quick action, Cobb said.

An adequate facilities tax charges a fee imposed on each square foot of new construction. Sometimes it's limited only to residential construction. Sometimes different rates are applied to commercial construction. Frequently, it's seen as a way to make growth pay for itself.

It also increases the property tax base because builders simply pass along the cost to the buyer of new homes, so the sale price reflects the greater cost created by the tax and the greater value of the property is taxed as long as the building exists.

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