Posted on 10/10/2005 12:46:14 PM PDT by Millicent_Hornswaggle
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Manuel Hernandez gets nervous at the sight of a police car behind him in traffic, knowing he is breaking the law each time he gets behind the wheel.
The Guatemalan citizen living in Lexington lacks a drivers license.
“It’s a risk,” he said. But, “it’s reality.”
Hernandez is like thousands of undocumented immigrants, driving without a license because state law says they can’t have one. It is also difficult, if not nearly impossible, for them to get driver’s training or secure a driver’s manual in their native language to learn the rules of the road in their new country.
A recent wreck in Lexington that resulted in the death of a Mexican man, who police said didn’t have a valid license, brought the issue to light. It has also prompted some who drive without a license to question the laws that keep them from getting a valid permit.
“How are you going to get to work? Walk?” said Mario Barrios, a Mexican man who has lived in the United States, the past eight in Lexington.
Barrios, who works at a horse farm and is married to a U.S. citizen, tried to get a Kentucky license. Officials there told him he needed to show a Mexican passport and a visa showing he entered the U.S. legally.
“They said, ‘Before 9/11, maybe. Now, no way,”’ he said.
Laws in many states, including Kentucky, were tightened in the months after the terrorist attacks. According to state law, all non-U.S. citizens may drive in the country on their valid foreign driver’s license for up to one year after they come here.
After that, they are expected to get a U.S. driver’s license, which may not be possible for undocumented immigrants.
Punishing immigrants without a valid license is tough, said Assistant Fayette County Attorney Jack Miller. Kentucky has no legal way to charge a driver who consistently refuses to get a license.
“There’s no way to monitor how many times they’ve been here,” he said.
But, the lack of a license can also mean the lack of insurance, which can result in a person being arrested.
That’s what happened to Pablo Jimenez, who arrived in Kentucky five years ago from Mexico’s Oaxaca state.
“They took me to jail for a little while,” Jimenez, 27, said.
“The fines were going to be over a thousand dollars.”
After obtaining insurance and renewing the vehicle’s registration, Jimenez paid about $250 in fines.
Insurance companies such as Safe Auto will insure immigrants as long as they have a valid license from their country, even if they are undocumented, said Jene Taylor, a Safe Auto sales representative.
There are no exact figures, but Barrios estimates maybe half of immigrants begin driving here.
“There’s a lot who came here from Mexico that didn’t drive there, but drive here,” he said. “They’re the ones who get into crashes.”
Lexington Police Chief Anthany Beatty said undocumented immigrants, at the very least, need to be informed of the rules of the road and public transportation options.
“I know there are going to be those saying we shouldn’t spend money to educate someone who is not documented, we shouldn’t spend money to allow people to get cars and to have licenses, but the fact is they are here, and they are driving cars, and some of them don’t have licenses,” Beatty said.
State Rep. Mike Weaver wrote and pushed the 2002 state legislation that made it more difficult for immigrants to get a Kentucky driver’s license. He said it should be tough for illegal immigrants to get a license.
“Once they have a driver’s license, they can hide among us indefinitely,” he said.
But the Rev. Patrick Delahanty of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky said that logic is flawed.
“We have no idea whether they know what a stop sign is or don’t know what a stop sign is. We’ve created a situation where they’re not going to show up to show us. They’re not going to take a driver test. They’re not going to study the law of Kentucky and not have insurance,” he said.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader,
He breaks the law EVERY MORNING THAT HE WAKES UP IN THE U.S.!!
Editorializing by ommission, I think it is called.
He is breaking the law breathing air in this country. Every second he is here is an affront to law abidng citizens.
'An Undocumented immigrant' = an illegal alien = a criminal and should be deported.
So if I avoid NYS handgun law and buy one off the street and avoid all the documentation. I guess I would be considered a "undocumented" handgun owner. I bet the media would write it that way and feel sorry for me, right?
The dichotomy of federal and state law regarding illegal aliens continues.
Good for Kentucky.
(Let's change the words up a bit.)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Manuel Hernandez gets nervous at the sight of a police when he is doing surgery, knowing he is breaking the law each time he uses a scalpel.
The Guatemalan citizen living in Lexington lacks a medical license.
“It’s a risk,” he said. But, “it’s reality.”
Hernandez is like thousands of undocumented immigrants, is doing surgical procedures without a license because state law says they can’t have one. It is also difficult, if not nearly impossible, for them to get surgical training or secure a surgical manual in their native language to learn the rules of medicine in their new country.
A recent surgery in Lexington that resulted in the death of a Mexican man, who police said didn’t have a valid license, brought the issue to light. It has also prompted some who do surgery without a license to question the laws that keep them from getting a valid permit.
“How are you going to get to do surgery? Pretend?” said Mario Barrios, a Mexican man who has lived in the United States, the past eight in Lexington.
Barrios, who works at a horse farm and is married to a U.S. citizen, tried to get a Kentucky license. Officials there told him he needed to show a Mexican passport and a visa showing he entered the U.S. legally.
“They said, ‘Before 9/11, maybe. Now, no way,”’ he said.
Laws in many states, including Kentucky, were tightened in the months after the terrorist attacks. According to state law, all non-U.S. citizens may operate in the country on their valid foreign driver’s license for up to one year after they come here.
After that, they are expected to get a U.S. doctors license, which may not be possible for undocumented immigrants.
Punishing immigrants without a valid license is tough, said Assistant Fayette County Attorney Jack Miller. Kentucky has no legal way to charge a doctor who consistently refuses to get a license.
“There’s no way to monitor how many times they’ve been here,” he said.
But, the lack of a license can also mean the lack of insurance, which can result in a person being arrested.
That’s what happened to Pablo Jimenez, who arrived in Kentucky five years ago from Mexico’s Oaxaca state.
“They took me to jail for a little while,” Jimenez, 27, said.
“The fines were going to be over a thousand dollars.”
After obtaining insurance and obtaining surgical credentials at a local hospital, Jimenez paid about $250 in fines.
Insurance companies such as Safe Auto will insure immigrants as long as they have a valid license from their country, even if they are undocumented, said Jene Taylor, a Safe Auto sales representative.
There are no exact figures, but Barrios estimates maybe half of immigrants begin doing surgery here.
“There’s a lot who came here from Mexico that didn’t operate on people there, but operate on people here,” he said. “They’re the ones who get into trouble.”
Lexington Police Chief Anthany Beatty said undocumented immigrants, at the very least, need to be informed of the rules of the hospitals around them.
“I know there are going to be those saying we shouldn’t spend money to educate someone who is not documented, we shouldn’t spend money to allow people to get scalpels and to have licenses, but the fact is they are here, and they are operating on people, and some of them don’t have licenses,” Beatty said.
State Rep. Mike Weaver wrote and pushed the 2002 state legislation that made it more difficult for immigrants to get a Kentucky surgical license. He said it should be tough for illegal immigrants to get a license.
“Once they have a surgical license, they can hide among us indefinitely,” he said.
But the Rev. Patrick Delahanty of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky said that logic is flawed.
“We have no idea whether they know how to do surgery or not. We’ve created a situation where they’re not going to show up to show us. They’re not going to take a surgeons test. They’re not going to study the law of Kentucky and not have insurance,” he said.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader,
We ALL Ben Mugged : )
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
snip
You are so xenophobic. I'm sure Dr. Hernandez does excellent work and that his patients appreciate him working below minimum wage and thereby charging them less that some licensed U.S. quack.
(Nice work on your re-write.)
Barrios, who works at a horse farm and is married to a U.S. citizen, tried to get a Kentucky license.
...he just can't prove he got here legally.
Why don't they return home, acquire an international driver's license, and steal their way back into the US?
If I were them, I'd just get p!$$ed off and go home.
Here's a thought: Why haven't these people been deported. Breaking the law by driving? They are breaking the law just walking down the street or standing still for that matter. What's with this stupid plea for sympathy for Illegals?
Not to mention he can't have insurance and drive the vehicle so when he hit's your family in his car you are SOL....
But I guess that's a risk we have to take so little Juan can get to his job.......
NeverGore
I am not! I think she is hot. Just check her out!
OK, maybe she does scare me a little and after a few beers if she jumped out of the bushes with that outfit on I'd probably pee my pants by I am not "phobic" of her!
Oh, wait, you said "xeno" not "xena".
Nevermind....
This reporter is really dumb. Can't he also be arrested for driving without a license?
As for Mr. Mario Barrios (who's married to a U.S. citizen), he can begin his redemption by moving back to Mexico, having his wife sponsor him to America on a K1 visa, and getting married to her again. But knowing how illegals are confounded by U.S. civil and immigration law (e.g., driving without a license or insurance), it could also be that his alleged "wife" isn't really an alleged "citizen" (and if so, why hasn't she thought of this simple remedy for her "husband"?).
Finally, perhaps some class action attorney will one day see that the "can't get legal status, can't get a license, can't get insurance" argument really rests on state and federal refusal to enforce immigration laws, and will file suit on behalf of anyone and everyone injured in accidents with "undocumented immigrants."
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