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05-26-2006, 12:35 AM
Illegals without driver’s licenses register cars
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Updated: 07:57 AM EST
Local police are nabbing growing numbers of illegal immigrants for unlicensed driving because porous state laws allow them to register business and personal vehicles without first getting driver’s licenses, a Herald review found.
Police chiefs in several communities said the legal loophole, which grants special vehicle registration numbers to people without licenses, leads to risky conditions on the roadways as more and more illegal immigrants seek to drive without training or authority.
“It’s lawlessness,” Malden police Chief Kenneth Coye said. “There is no regard for standards . . . and I think there is a sense among a lot of people that it’s no big thing.”
The problem has attracted the attention of Registry of Motor Vehicles officials, and a state lawmaker is crafting legislation to eliminate the loophole by requiring people to prove legal immigration status before registering vehicles.
“As a country, we have been pretty lax in this area,” Sen. Richard R. Tisei (R-Wakefield) said of the loose regulations that create so much leeway for illegal immigrants. “We’re finding a whole mess of laws and regulations that provide tremendous loopholes.”
Police officials say the state’s growing population of illegal immigrants - estimates put the figure between 175,000 and 250,000 people - has forced them to deal with local fallout on an increasing basis. Milford police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin said his officers regularly encounter illegal aliens driving without licenses, often in contractors’ trucks they are using to get to and from work.
More on this Story (http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=140728)
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Updated: 07:57 AM EST
Local police are nabbing growing numbers of illegal immigrants for unlicensed driving because porous state laws allow them to register business and personal vehicles without first getting driver’s licenses, a Herald review found.
Police chiefs in several communities said the legal loophole, which grants special vehicle registration numbers to people without licenses, leads to risky conditions on the roadways as more and more illegal immigrants seek to drive without training or authority.
“It’s lawlessness,” Malden police Chief Kenneth Coye said. “There is no regard for standards . . . and I think there is a sense among a lot of people that it’s no big thing.”
The problem has attracted the attention of Registry of Motor Vehicles officials, and a state lawmaker is crafting legislation to eliminate the loophole by requiring people to prove legal immigration status before registering vehicles.
“As a country, we have been pretty lax in this area,” Sen. Richard R. Tisei (R-Wakefield) said of the loose regulations that create so much leeway for illegal immigrants. “We’re finding a whole mess of laws and regulations that provide tremendous loopholes.”
Police officials say the state’s growing population of illegal immigrants - estimates put the figure between 175,000 and 250,000 people - has forced them to deal with local fallout on an increasing basis. Milford police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin said his officers regularly encounter illegal aliens driving without licenses, often in contractors’ trucks they are using to get to and from work.
More on this Story (http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=140728)