lulac sues Ohio BMV

The League of United Latin American Citizens LULAC said that a new BMV policy requiring additional documentation proving citizenship is illegal. ”This requirement is not supported by Ohio law,” said LULAC’s Jose Luis Mas.

‘In order to obtain any Temporary Permit, Driver License, Commercial Driver License, State of Ohio Identification (ID) card or duplicate of any of these items, the customer must present a primary and asecondary document satisfactory to prove both: (1) Name and date of birth and (2) Social Security Number (SSN), if ever assigned; or two primary documents. The primary document shall contain the full legal name. In addition each applicant shall present along with the application identification, documents sufficient to establish the person’s true identity including the person’s full legal name, date of birth, legal presence in the United States,\’

LULAC announced it was suing the BMV. The bureau wants more than 47,000 drivers with questionable vehicle registrations to come in and prove who they are, but LULAC said the BMV is unfairly singling out Hispanics, Akers reported.
The BMV sent letters in October to people, it said do not have proper documents on file, asking them to provide a drivers license, identification card, or social security number.
Ohio Annual Traffic Crash Facts
“The majority of Ohio’s newly arrived immigrants do not have and cannot obtain any these documents,” Mas said. Undocumented immigrants face the loss of their cars and jobs without the ability to drive, the lawyers said. They said families, many with American-born children who are U.S. citizens, could be forced to relocate or separate,As of last week, 2,245 people had visited BMV offices and provided proof of legal U.S. residency. The Dispatch revealed on Sept. 13 that a loophole in Ohio law allowed thousands of undocumented workers to register vehicles even though many did not have valid Social Security numbers or vehicle insurance.
The immigrants hired “runners” with legal U.S. residency to register their cars with falsified power-of-attorney forms that did not require verification of the identity of vehicle owners. The forms only required Social Security numbers, which state officials could not verify.more

“There’s nothing in Ohio statute that justifies denial of the registration if you don’t provide a social security number,” said attorney Dennis Muchniki, who is representing LULAC. But BMV officials said their concern is public safety.A crash on New Years 2008 first raised concern when undocumented immigrant Alfonso Martinez wrecked his car while driving drunk.Source of Story