MIAMI — A Japanese employee of automaker Honda was issued an immigration citation in Alabama for driving without a license, officials said Thursday, less than a month after a Mercedes-Benz executive was stopped.
The Japan-based employee, whose identity has not been disclosed, presented his passport and international driver's license, but that document is not recognized by Alabama, Leeds County police said. He was issued a citation under the state's immigration law late Monday and summoned to a local court.
Until recently, the lack of a license would have merited a mere traffic ticket -- but in late September, Alabama approved a state law authorizing police to detain foreigners suspected of being illegal immigrants after committing an infraction.
A federal appeals court in mid-October blocked sections of the Alabama immigration law -- the most severe in the nation -- especially provisions requiring schools to check whether students were in the United States legally.
But it backed the police powers to detain anyone suspected of being a illegal immigrant.
Under the law, anyone driving in Alabama must carry a valid license issued by the state or the driver's country of origin. If the driver does not show police a valid license, he or she is summoned to the nearest court.
The case came just two weeks after a visiting German executive for Mercedes-Benz was arrested in the state for driving without a license and lacking proper identification.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Honda employee cited for breaking US immigration law
11:24 PM
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