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San Jose to stop 30-day car impounds for unlicensed drivers
San Jose Mercury News ^ | 12/08/2010 | Sean Webby

Posted on 12/08/2010 7:33:16 PM PST by moonshinner_09

In a sudden U-turn after years of complaints, the San Jose police department is expected as early as next week to stop the impounding cars for a month when unlicensed drivers are nabbed for minor traffic violations.

Instead, officers will look for alternatives to towing a car, such as letting someone else pick up the car on the spot, when the stops don't involve allegations of drunken driving or other dangerous driving crimes.

While the proposal has raised concern among at least one city council member, immigrant advocates feel the 30-day vehicle holds unfairly target undocumented residents. Latino advocacy groups have long protested that the vehicle seizures depriveded working-class people of their cars -- which cost thousands of dollars in charges and fines to get back, often exceeding the worth of the car itself.

The new policy would give officers the options of allowing the driver to park the vehicle and have a licensed driver pick it up that day. If the car is towed, a licensed driver can pick it up almost immediately and pay applicable fees and fines, but without having to wait 30 days.

"I'm so happy. This won't help me any more, but it will help a lot of people," said Inma, whose Nissan Xterra was impounded earlier this year after her husband, an undocumented immigrant with no license, got a traffic citation on his way to work.

It took Inma, who declined to give her full name to protect her husband, a month and about $3,000 from savings

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: immigration
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If an illegal can ignore the law — and thereby often must keep breaking more laws — should citizens also have the right to similarly pick and choose which statutes they find worthy of honoring and which are too bothersome?
1 posted on 12/08/2010 7:33:19 PM PST by moonshinner_09
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To: moonshinner_09

And one day, just like that, noticed our nation was gone...


2 posted on 12/08/2010 7:38:36 PM PST by Caipirabob ( Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: moonshinner_09

When laws are outlawed then only outlaws will be free?


3 posted on 12/08/2010 7:39:55 PM PST by Cisco Nix
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To: moonshinner_09

One law for Americans, one law for illegals.

I wonder when conservatives are going to get tired of this liberal BS.

These liberals are traitors of the worst kind.

What kind of sickos allow foreign criminals to do what they want and put the boot on the neck of its own citizens?


4 posted on 12/08/2010 7:41:08 PM PST by radpolis (Liberals: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy)
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To: moonshinner_09

Why hold the car in jail- it didn’t know who was driving it.

Better to hold the unlicensed driver for 30 days as standard practice.

Cars don’t drive people.


5 posted on 12/08/2010 7:47:10 PM PST by One Name
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To: radpolis

The whole idea of laws is to protect the innocent citizens from those that flaunt the law and do dangerous things..driving drunk, too fast, without insurance etc. When will our law enforcement start doing their jobs. Illegal drivers should loose their car and be kept in jail until deported..period.


6 posted on 12/08/2010 7:48:57 PM PST by Oldexpat
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To: One Name

Just how big a jail do you want to pay for.You dont have to feed the car and you dont have to worry about the car once its impounded.Make it as inhospitable for the illegals and they will leave or move to mexifornia.


7 posted on 12/08/2010 8:10:19 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: moonshinner_09

Stealing peoples property and only means of transportation is just plain wrong.

Yes, illegals are disadvantaged but so too are many poor people who will be further disadvantaged.

The police use Color of Authority to steal property - - Bottom Line.


8 posted on 12/08/2010 8:16:22 PM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously... You'll never live through it.)
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To: HANG THE EXPENSE

I’m in the prison business- just making a play on the car as the evil like the libs do guns.

I personally believe we could round up and export illegals (humanely) and it would provide meaningful employment for many citizens.

Once you start Operation Homeward Bound, many as you say would repatriate themselves....


9 posted on 12/08/2010 8:26:15 PM PST by One Name
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To: moonshinner_09

Americans

The biggest lamest idiots that have NO RIGHTS in their own country.

Americans are slaves to the illegal aliens. NO more freedom for YOU.

sigh, the dream of freedom is dead.


10 posted on 12/08/2010 8:32:48 PM PST by TruthConquers (Delendae sunt publicae scholae)
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To: Vendome

Oh please. Are poor people uniquely unable to get a fricken driver’s license?


11 posted on 12/08/2010 9:02:21 PM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (QMC(SW) USN........ CG21 DD988 FFG34 PC6 ARS53)
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To: HANG THE EXPENSE

: One Name
Just how big a jail do you want to pay for.You dont have to feed the car and you dont have to worry about the car once its impounded.Make it as inhospitable for the illegals and they will leave or move to mexifornia.

Next step is for the cops to issue temporary driving permit,
lots cheeper than incarceration


12 posted on 12/08/2010 9:02:37 PM PST by munin (Enki did it, George Bush did it)
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Regardless of what you believe about impounding property, I take exception to the justification to repeal the law because it “unfairly targets minorities”. It targets nobody except people driving without drivers licenses, and technically it doesn’t target them either. You get stopped breaking a traffic law, and you do not have a license, your car gets impounded no matter who you are....just because it is illegal aliens who fall into this most often, does not mean they are being “targeted”. Perhaps we should make robberies legal, because based on the prison population, it would seem law enforcement is targetting minorities.


13 posted on 12/08/2010 9:04:23 PM PST by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ...In the US the number is 54%)
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To: moonshinner_09

dones’t this law fairly punish law breakers? Otherwise, whats the point of having a license?


14 posted on 12/08/2010 9:07:45 PM PST by mockingbyrd (Remember in November.)
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To: One Name

I am all for that.In the meantime taking the car from an illegal would cut down on possible vehicular homicides.We have enough of our own drunks to contend with.


15 posted on 12/08/2010 9:08:25 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: A Balrog of Morgoth

The police impound cars for 30 days. The cost of getting the vehicle back is $3,000+.

If they can’t pay they forfeit the vehicle. It’s a stupid way of dealing with the issue.

Now they can’t get to work, shop for their children or take them to a doctor.

$3,000 may not be a lot to you as well as being deprived of a vehicle for 30 days and likely losing it but it is to many people.


16 posted on 12/08/2010 9:14:39 PM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously... You'll never live through it.)
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To: moonshinner_09

If they don’t have a driver’s license then they probably don’t have insurance either. Therefore breaking mulitple laws, and causing me to have to pay more for my insurance.


17 posted on 12/08/2010 9:22:29 PM PST by smokingfrog ( ><{{{{{(0>)
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To: HANG THE EXPENSE

Hell yeah impound the car; I was being facetious. Cars don’t know their drivers are illegal, just like guns don’t kill people. But, I would sure seize a weapon used by a criminal.


18 posted on 12/08/2010 9:26:22 PM PST by One Name
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To: One Name

There you go.We need to pass that provision here in georgia and use the money to fund the hospitals that the illegals are bankrupting.That would burn there ass for sure.


19 posted on 12/08/2010 9:33:54 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Vendome

Hey Vendome, why don’t you just go back to Mexico and take your law breaking friends with you! But before you leave, take a look through all the posts on FR for a day. It will be a rare day if you don’t find at least one article about an illegal alien killing a citizen with his car somewhere in our country. And oh you will also in all probability read about an illegal breaking into someone’s home. The only good news on home invasions, homeowners are now shooting these scum!


20 posted on 12/08/2010 10:49:21 PM PST by vette6387 (Enough Already!)
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