Posted on 11/10/2010 12:39:25 PM PST by SmithL
Illegal immigrants pulled over for minor traffic violations in Berkeley will no longer have their cars impounded for 30 days, thanks to a new police policy here.
Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan agreed to the change last month and is now training officers on the new policy, he said.
City Manager Phil Kamlarz said in a memo to city staff that "This policy will prevent those who simply cannot get a driver's license, in many cases due to their immigration status, from having their vehicles impounded ..."
Meehan said the new policy was not necessarily designed to make it easier on illegal immigrants, but will benefit anyone who "never got a license for whatever reason" and is designed to "balance safety and a reasonable level of law enforcement."
The new policy gives officers discretion whether to impound a car for 30 days, a situation which can cost the car's owner about $2,500 in fees. Cars still will be towed at the officers discretion but not held for 30 days.
Members of Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action said they have been lobbying the police department for two years for the change to make it easier on some of their members who are illegal immigrants. California requires proof of legal presence in the United States to get a driver's license.
"The first thing we had in mind is that there are a lot of people who need to drive to work, take their children to the hospital or to school," said Mario Ibarra, a member of the congregations.
"Those people should not be afraid to drive without a license." . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at insidebayarea.com ...
This is your brain on Liberalism.
Why should anyone in Ca need a license ?
Do you think if I moved to Berkeley and didn’t register my car they would give me the same favor? or maybe if I applied for welfare? or maybe if I demanded food stamps and a home and free medical insurance?
oh, I forgot. Wrong skin color and speak English.
What if they are caught transporting Happy Meals into San Francisco?
So, if I’m illegal, I get a perk that an American isn’t allowed?
What’s next? If an illegal knocks on your door; you have to move somewhere else, so he can move in?
Maybe Arizona should take try a different method.
They should simply pay every illegal immigrant $1000 in cash to permanently relocate to Berkeley, California.
Yeah, the people who should be afraid to drive at all should be responsible, tax-paying, legal citizens who have insurance.
all more stuff citizens get to pay for! good times...
Of course! Why should they need to obey the speed limit either? They're anxious to get home to their wonderful families and pet their cuddly cats.
And why should they need to obey any law? If they need to decapitate someone's head from their body, that's just how Mexican culture does things, we need to respect that.......
Hey, in Denver, one needs not a license, registration, insurance, or even an ID card.
If you don’t speak English, your off free.
Thanks, Gov Ritter and newly elected idiot...er...fool...er...liberal...Hick-in-the-Looper.
That would be so funny and in the short term, it might even be cost effective...
LOL! That would be on par with a flux in the “space-time continuum.
Liberals admitting public transportation doesn't work! End the funding immediately.
Forget the car; impound the illegal!
Anyone want to guess what happens if I try that?
I suspect this has nothing to do with “sensitivity” towards illegals. More likely illegals facing mounting fees simply abandon their vehicles leaving the city with overflowing impoundment lots and holding the bag for the storage costs. It’s all about money.
That’s what state impound lot auctions are for.
Where's the San Anreas Fault when we need it.
“Those people should not be afraid to drive without a license.” . . .
Right!...And they shouldn’t be afraid when they plow into my car without insurance.
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