German Mercedes-Benz Executive Arrested Under Alabama’s Immigration Law

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Alabama’s economy is suffering because of HB 56, the state’s draconian immigration law, as workers flee out of fear. State Sen. Scott Beason ®, who sponsored the anti-immigrant bill in the Alabama legislature, once called it a “jobs bill,” but the state’s immigration law is leaving entire industries without enough workers instead. And the extreme law, which legislators are now reconsidering, could seriously damage the state’s reputation as well after police arrested a German Mercedes-Benz executive last week under the immigration law. Mercedes opened its first American manufacturing plant in Vance, Alabama in 1993, spurring a trend of foreign car makers and suppliers opening factories in the state. They may be rethinking that decision, however, after one of their German executives was arrested for simply not having his passport with him:

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson told The Associated Press an officer stopped a rental vehicle for not having a tag Wednesday night and asked the driver for his license.

The man only had a German identification card, so he was arrested and taken to police headquarters

, Anderson said.

The

46-year-old executive was charged with violating the immigration law for not having proper identification

, but he was released after an associate retrieved his passport, visa and German driver’s license from the hotel where he was staying, Anderson said.

The length of his detainment and the status of his court case weren’t immediately known.

Bentley…called the state’s homeland security director, Spencer Collier, after hearing of the arrest to get details about what had happened, Collier said in an interview.

“Initially I didn’t have them, so I called Chief Anderson to find out what happened,” Collier said. “

It sounds like the officer followed the statute correctly

.”

Before Gov. Robert Bentley ® signed HB 56, drivers who did not have a license were given a ticket and court summons, Collier said. “If it were not for the immigration law, a person without a license in their possession wouldn’t be arrested like this,” he told the AP.

In October, the New York Times speculated in an editorial that despite best efforts to recruit foreign automakers to Alabama, the state was now “infamous as a regional capital of xenophobia.” And if the immigration law scared away a manufacturer like Mercedes, which employs about 2,800 Alabamians, or Hyundai, which announced an expansion at its Montgomery, Alabama plant in May, would only compound the state’s economic woes. The unfortunate arrest of a visiting Mercedes executive only underscores the damage Alabama’s harmful anti-immigrant law will continue to do to the state’s economy — and its reputation.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/21/373334/german-mercedes-benz-executive-arrested-under-alabamas-immigration-law/

[Obama 2012 1,714]

OK - Think Progress is being dishonest here.

He would have been arrested in almost ANY state if all he showed was a "German ID."

#1 - he wasn't carrying his passport with his VISA, which he's supposed to.

#2 - he was driving without a license.

This is a non-story and left-wing/illegal immigrant sympathizer bullshit.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

He would have been arrested in almost ANY state if all he showed was a "German ID."

Oh really? So what's the point of HB56?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Oh really? So what's the point of HB56?

let's see: no state benefits for illegals, makes cops check immigration status in suspected situations where the person cannot be indentified, and a lot more... Go read the bill, have fun. It's nice and detailed. everything from work related issues all the way up to renting out to illegals. It's all in there. Of course I'm sure you already knew that....

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

OK - Think Progress is being dishonest here.

He would have been arrested in almost ANY state if all he showed was a "German ID."

#1 - he wasn't carrying his passport with his VISA, which he's supposed to.

#2 - he was driving without a license.

This is a non-story and left-wing/illegal immigrant sympathizer bullshit.

Bullshite. The article states quite clearly that driving w/o a license was not subject to arrest prior to this law taking effect. I know that my mom doesn't carry her passport around when she's here. She'll have her German DL and her German ID card on her when she drives around and that's it. And I am not worried that she might end up in jail here in FL for not carrying her passport. Just would not happen. Period. This is a fcuking embarrassment for AL and this certainly doesn't make the state more attractive for foreign companies when considering establishing operations in the US. They'll avoid Alafcukingbama like the pest. As they well should.

[Darnell 8,479]

I have no issue with him being arrested. He's to carry his papers on him, USCIS already told him so.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Bullshite. The article states quite clearly that driving w/o a license was not subject to arrest prior to this law taking effect. I know that my mom doesn't carry her passport around when she's here. She'll have her German DL and her German ID card on her when she drives around and that's it. And I am not worried that she might end up in jail here in FL for not carrying her passport. Just would not happen. Period. This is a fcuking embarrassment for AL and this certainly doesn't make the state more attractive for foreign companies when considering establishing operations in the US. They'll avoid Alafcukingbama like the pest. As they well should.

A DHS officer said someone wouldn't be arrested. They don't know squat about what local cops do. Actually it's usually at the cops discretion to arrest someone or not. If this guy only had a German ID, no DL, and no Passport, you better believe he'd be detained and ICE would be called to check him out.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I have no issue with him being arrested. He's to carry his papers on him, USCIS already told him so.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

A DHS officer said someone wouldn't be arrested. They don't know squat about what local cops do. Actually it's usually at the cops discretion to arrest someone or not. If this guy only had a German ID, no DL, and no Passport, you better believe he'd be detained and ICE would be called to check him out.

As I said, I know that no cop here in FL would arrest my mother (or my brothers or my friends that visit here from Germany) for failure to produce a passport. I have been around the US as a visitor Lord knows how many times prior to relocating here. Not once was there any concern on anyone's part that failure to produce a passport during a traffic stop would land my ####### in jail. This ain't America, this is the path to the total police state. Plain and simple.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

As I said, I know that no cop here in FL would arrest my mother (or my brothers or my friends that visit here from Germany) for failure to produce a passport. I have been around the US as a visitor Lord knows how many times prior to relocating here. Not once was there any concern on anyone's part that failure to produce a passport during a traffic stop would land my ####### in jail. This ain't America, this is the path to the total police state. Plain and simple.

Maybe Paul wants a police state. Nothing says "Libertarian" like advocating police arrests for not carrying papers with you everywhere.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

One thing is sure: if they arrest a 46 year-old white-skinned, blue-eyed German executive wearing a suit, the opponents of Alabama's immigration law can not claim anymore it's directed against brown people/ Hispanics/ Mexicans. Here's proof that white people don't get a pass either.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Maybe Paul wants a police state. Nothing says "Libertarian" like advocating police arrests for not carrying papers with you everywhere.

It's all in the fine print. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Funny as it may seem to Paul, the libertarian totalitarian, this kind of stuff will hurt the states that go down that path. It's something that potential inflow investors will consider when making decisions on where in the US to make their investments. AL won't be high on anyone's list. They'll have their totalitarianism and no illegals. But they also won't have any outside investments. Hicks and hillbillies all among themselves. Fosters and allows for better inbreeding which should sit well with the REAL Alabama population.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

As I said, I know that no cop here in FL would arrest my mother (or my brothers or my friends that visit here from Germany) for failure to produce a passport. I have been around the US as a visitor Lord knows how many times prior to relocating here. Not once was there any concern on anyone's part that failure to produce a passport during a traffic stop would land my ####### in jail. This ain't America, this is the path to the total police state. Plain and simple.

Hyperbole much?

If you're driving - BY LAW - you have to carry a DL. Anything else can you have you arrested, you car towed, etc...

If you're an immigrant/visitor, part of your allowance into this country means you must carry your "papers" with you at all time. You are not a citizen, and there is no other easy proof of your residency.

We have an illegal immigration problem here. That's a fact. Perhaps if the illegal problem was taken care of, then "legal" visitors/PRs wouldn't have to worry about it, but unfortunately they do.

Maybe Paul wants a police state. Nothing says "Libertarian" like advocating police arrests for not carrying papers with you everywhere.

Citizen vs non-citizen. Get a clue.

It's all in the fine print. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Funny as it may seem to Paul, the libertarian totalitarian, this kind of stuff will hurt the states that go down that path. It's something that potential inflow investors will consider when making decisions on where in the US to make their investments. AL won't be high on anyone's list. They'll have their totalitarianism and no illegals. But they also won't have any outside investments. Hicks and hillbillies all among themselves. Fosters and allows for better inbreeding which should sit well with the REAL Alabama population.

totalitarianism for expecting the law to be followed? You really need to re-think what you're saying.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

This is not a good example of an abuse caused by the law. It would have been nice if the police allowed him to retrieve the documents without arrest, but that is neither here not there.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Alabama’s economy is suffering because of HB 56, the state’s draconian immigration law, as workers flee out of fear. State Sen. Scott Beason ®, who sponsored the anti-immigrant bill in the Alabama legislature, once called it a “jobs bill,” but the state’s immigration law is leaving entire industries without enough workers instead. And the extreme law, which legislators are now reconsidering, could seriously damage the state’s reputation as well after police arrested a German Mercedes-Benz executive last week under the immigration law. Mercedes opened its first American manufacturing plant in Vance, Alabama in 1993, spurring a trend of foreign car makers and suppliers opening factories in the state. They may be rethinking that decision, however, after one of their German executives was arrested for simply not having his passport with him:

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson told The Associated Press an officer stopped a rental vehicle for not having a tag Wednesday night and asked the driver for his license.

The man only had a German identification card, so he was arrested and taken to police headquarters

, Anderson said.

The

46-year-old executive was charged with violating the immigration law for not having proper identification

, but he was released after an associate retrieved his passport, visa and German driver’s license from the hotel where he was staying, Anderson said.

The length of his detainment and the status of his court case weren’t immediately known.

Bentley…called the state’s homeland security director, Spencer Collier, after hearing of the arrest to get details about what had happened, Collier said in an interview.

“Initially I didn’t have them, so I called Chief Anderson to find out what happened,” Collier said. “

It sounds like the officer followed the statute correctly

.”

Before Gov. Robert Bentley ® signed HB 56, drivers who did not have a license were given a ticket and court summons, Collier said. “If it were not for the immigration law, a person without a license in their possession wouldn’t be arrested like this,” he told the AP.

In October, the New York Times speculated in an editorial that despite best efforts to recruit foreign automakers to Alabama, the state was now “infamous as a regional capital of xenophobia.” And if the immigration law scared away a manufacturer like Mercedes, which employs about 2,800 Alabamians, or Hyundai, which announced an expansion at its Montgomery, Alabama plant in May, would only compound the state’s economic woes. The unfortunate arrest of a visiting Mercedes executive only underscores the damage Alabama’s harmful anti-immigrant law will continue to do to the state’s economy — and its reputation.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/21/373334/german-mercedes-benz-executive-arrested-under-alabamas-immigration-law/

You are against eliminating child labor laws but it is OK to exploit illegals to avoid those same laws? Could racism possibly be more obvious?