License application leads to immigration bust

Ianus · 09-08-2014, 09:31 PM

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...ry.html#page=1

Quote:

When Illinois enacted a program to issue driver's licenses to qualified residents who entered the U.S. illegally, state officials assured the applicants they need not fear becoming targets for deportation.

But immigration agents were waiting for Felipe de Jesus Diosdado when he entered a Villa Park state office for a February meeting on his license application. Now the 35-year-old resident of Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood and his family are waiting to see if he will be sent back to Mexico.

At the same time, officials at the secretary of state's office, which administers the program and whose agents contacted immigration officials, are re-examining how it handles background information from a population that is typically wary of authorities.

"This particular program was designed specifically for people like Felipe," said Diosdado's lawyer, Mony Ruiz-Velasco. "It was really asking a lot of the community to come forward to apply for a document to identify themselves."

Illinois secretary of state officials insist Diosdado's predicament is an isolated case in the nearly year-old Temporary Visitor Driver's License program, which encourages immigrants in the country illegally to apply for driving privileges.

The program has extended driving privileges to nearly 58,000 people — and officials estimate it could add hundreds of thousands of others in the coming years. California and Colorado, states with robust migrant populations, are starting similar programs.

Lisa Grau, the secretary of state official who directs the license program, said that among the changes to the TVDL program, Illinois in most cases now only responds to requests for certain applicants' immigration status from authorities, instead of independently alerting them.

"Obviously it is never our intention to have anyone's immigration status impacted by this program," Grau said. "Not only have we learned from this instance on how we can best protect the community that we're trying to really engage, but other states will learn from this as well."

Diosdado came to the United States in 1997 and settled in Chicago. Nearly two years later, during a bus ride to visit relatives in Michigan, an immigration agent detained him briefly and began deportation proceedings.

Diosdado said he never received a court date or any further notice about his case. He found a job as a maintenance worker in a downtown residential tower, started a family and bought a house. He said his deportation order never came up when he was convicted in 2005 of driving under the influence.

Diosdado obtained a learner's permit in 1999, Ruiz-Velasco said, which didn't require a Social Security number. In 2000 he successfully applied for an Indiana driver's license by presenting a document falsely stating he was a lawful permanent resident.
I felt sort of betrayed, because I didn't think that was going to happen. - Felipe de Jesus Diosdado

He obtained an Illinois license later that year by presenting his out-of-state license and proof of residency. When the TVDL program was approved, Diosdado saw an opportunity to obtain a license not tainted by fraud.

"They never said anything about immigration," he said. "So when I went to get my license, I didn't think this was going to happen because I'd been with police before and nothing ever happened."

That was when Diosdado's earlier run-in with immigration authorities surfaced.

Applicants who voluntarily tell authorities they have fraudulently obtained a previous driver's license, as Diosdado did, are entered into the state's Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, then are required to meet with authorities to submit information to prove their identities.

The secretary of state's office spotted the warrant for Diosdado's deportation during that background check and alerted immigration authorities that he was scheduled to attend a meeting at a state office in February.

Diosdado said he was cuffed and sped from the Villa Park office to two detention centers. Authorities released him in March and told him to report regularly to immigration officers while his case was under review.

"I felt sort of betrayed, because I didn't think that was going to happen," Diosdado said in an interview. "And I've never been hiding because I didn't know I had this warrant. I do everything the best way that I can do it."

Diosdado's case is now part of the latest advocacy effort to pressure the White House into relieving millions of people in the country illegally from the threat of deportation. Led by Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist, activist and resident without legal status, the #1of11Million campaign highlights 11 people around the country with complex immigration cases who could be eligible for relief from deportation under action President Barack Obama has said he would delay until after the midterm elections.

"I think all eyes are watching how Illinois is enacting this law," Vargas said of the program. "Having heard Felipe's story, I wonder how many other Felipes are out there, and how do we prevent that from happening?"

Supporters of the TVDL program say it makes roads safer by requiring immigrants to undergo driver's tests and obtain insurance. Critics argue that the licenses can lead to fraud or abuse, prompting some state lawmakers to propose that immigrants living here illegally be fingerprinted to qualify. Immigrant rights groups pushed against that idea, saying it would deter participation.

While the state says only Diosdado risks being deported because of background checks related to the license program, close to 2,400 other applicants in the license program have been investigated — and had their information entered into a law enforcement database — as part of the verification efforts for applicants who admit to fraudulently obtaining a license. That database is shared with a variety of state and federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

About 700 applicants have been denied admission to the TVDL program, according to the secretary of state's office. Of those rejections, the office said nearly 500 were suspected of fraud — meaning an applicant could have included fraudulent documents or didn't report a previous license.

Applicants who have acknowledged they fraudulently got a license but are cleared of serious criminal activity by investigators are issued a one-year suspension, pay a $70 fee and then qualify for a driver's license.

Mark Fleming, litigation coordinator for the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center, worries that because state authorities can see immigration warrants in federal databases, some immigrants are at risk.

"Most of those individuals — the vast majority — have no criminal record and certainly no criminal record that would make them removable," Fleming said.

When Diosdado met with his immigration case officer late last month, he wasn't certain he would be able to leave the meeting until authorities said he could remain in the country for at least three more months while his case is reviewed.

That evening, he returned to the home he shares with his longtime girlfriend and their two sons, both of whom are in grade school, and spent part of the evening preparing supplies for the new school year.

drvenom · 09-08-2014, 09:35 PM

I hope they don't bring me in like they do those lions in the savannah when I try to get my DL in California.

swiftp · 09-09-2014, 01:26 AM

Let me get this straight:

He said his deportation order never came up when he was convicted in 2005 of driving under the influence.
In 2000 he successfully applied for an Indiana driver's license by presenting a document falsely stating he was a lawful permanent resident.
Applicants who voluntarily tell authorities they have fraudulently obtained a previous driver's license, as Diosdado did, are entered into the state's Law Enforcement Agencies Data System

So he had a DUI on his record, applied to the state DMV with false documents, and then told another DMV he got the previous license from false documents...seriously?

Dude...

Pianoswithoutfaith · 09-09-2014, 02:49 AM

and he feels betrayed . Great, just what we need

drvenom · 09-09-2014, 07:43 AM

Yea man, I can't believe these hoodlums are surprised when they get deported or the like. I can't even believe all these hoodlums getting DACA benefits or green cards while I'm still on the sidelines hoping to get a bone thrown at me. Hell man, I should have misbehaved more. Nah, it's not my style.

IamAman · 09-09-2014, 03:51 PM

lol many years ago I heard this white dude talking about how he had a warrant for his arrest and when he went to renew his license in person, he was arrested and everybody was like "Well no shit!". In this gentleman's case: Well, no shit.

zone2oo0 · 09-10-2014, 03:45 AM

i can see Univision flipping this shit.

ggalicia · 09-10-2014, 11:00 AM

Oh well, he should had known better!!!

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License application leads to immigration bust