Should Illegals Be Able to Get License Plates?

This story developed late last week and I didn't get to it until over the weekend... I have found two media sources that tell the story fairly well, so let's piece this together, bit by bit.

First up is the Cincinnati Enquirer story:

Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones, whose office busted three Hamilton used-car dealerships Thursday, said Combs’ idea seems to be a good one.

Meanwhile, eight suspects charged in alleged fake-documents operations at the three Hamilton used-car dealers appeared Friday in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Dan Ferguson, an assistant prosecutor handling the case, said a ninth indicted person, Maria Martinez, 41, is recovering in Hamilton County after undergoing surgery and has said she intends to turn herself in to face the charges.

Six of the defendants charged with records-tampering were released on their promise to appear for future court dates, including the three Singh brothers who own the targeted dealerships: Rajvinder, 35, of Liberty Township, and Sukvinder, 37, and Sinderpal, 34, both of Deerfield Township.

Judge Michael J. Sage set bond at $25,000 each for two other defendants, James Dozier, 24, of Middletown, and Jesus Vasquez, 27, of Hamilton.

And now, the Times-Reporter story:

Undercover officers were sold phony identification cards that were used to process car titles and registrations, Jones said.

He said the dealerships charged customers far more than fair-market value for the vehicles. The dealerships, Paul’s Auto Sales, Payless Auto Sales and Credit Auto Sales, are owned by immigrants from India. They have been closed.

“The grand jury was almost in shock that this was going on,” Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones said. “It’s happening all over the place, not just here, but we’re the ones calling attention to it. It’s rampant.”

One employee is also accused of impersonating a sheriff’s deputy in an attempt to scare customers into making late payments, Butler said.

That last bit is particularly entertaining. I got a better explanation of this part of the story yesterday and it goes like this... Apparently the undercover officers bought these vehicles and were making payments decided to see what would happen if they stopped making payments. One of the dealerships had an employee call the undercover posing as a sheriff's deputy threatening to repossess the vehicle. If right now, you are thinking that it doesn't pay to do crime in Butler county...you'd be right.

But that's not why you're here...

All of that is really prologue for what happened the day after the arrests. State Rep. Courtney Combs has asked the Ohio Legislative Services Commission to look in to drafting a resolution that would require customers to prove US citizenship or legal immigration status in order to acquire a temporary tag or license plate for the vehicle.

The Enquirer asked the BMV for a comment:

Julie Ehrhart, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, said state laws already require certain key identification documents – such as a state ID card or driver’s license – to secure car titles, which are needed to register vehicles. But she also said that car dealers may not always require those types of identification when they hand out temporary license tags and/or sell vehicles.

It is important to note that what Combs is proposing is NOT what the headline of the Enquirer story states...in fact, in the story, Combs addresses that issue:

“I can’t stop you from buying a car. I think that would be unconstitutional; you have a right to buy anything you want, as long as you have the money.

"But what I can do is stop you from obtaining a tag or license to put on that car,” said state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Fairfield.

Illegals are running all kinds of legal risks, this would be one more...

For the record, I think this is a great idea. The only way we are ever going to get a handle on this illegal immigration problem is to encourage these folks to solve it for us. By making it more difficult for illegals to operate in the shadows of our society, we make it much more likely that the illegals will decide for themselves that it is best to not be here.

Also for the record, I believe strongly that we need an immigrant population to assist the American labor force. But I believe it is more important to make sure that our laws are respected and our borders are secured. I support a very tall wall with a very large gate...