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L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Vows to End 30-Day Impounds For Unlicensed Drivers (a.k.a. Illegal Immigrants)

Categories: Law

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Mayor V.
Following an unflattering report on vehicle impounds by the LAPD, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today said he would stop L.A. cops' 30-day impounds for first-time offenders who have been pulled over and found to lack drivers licenses.

For the most part around here those people are called illegal immigrants. And they provide a certain glue (dish washing, kid-watching, car-washing, lawn-mowing, nail-hammering, etc.) to our society, but they can't legally drive here.

The mayor's announcement took the department by surprise, we were told, and L.A. police union president Paul M. Weber said the policy "puts politics above public safety."

The mayor made the announcement today during ...

... an interview with La Opinion newspaper for a piece that apparently has yet to be published. [Added at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday: The story is up, here and via Google Translate, here].

The aforementioned impound study by Cynthia Anderson-Barker for the Southern California Immigration Coalition and the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild alleges racial profiling during traffic stops that end with illegal immigrants losing their cars for 30 days.

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Southern California Immigration Coalition

State law mandates that unlicensed drivers see a 30-day impound, and studies indicate that the unlicensed are more likely to get into traffic accidents.

However immigrants' rights advocates allege departments like the LAPD have used the tows to basically take folks' cars, particularly in illegal-immigrant-heavy communities.

The Lawyers Guild (PDF) wants the LAPD to adopt a Maywood-like policy:

Police officers shall refrain from impounding vehicles of unlicensed drivers, if the vehicle is already securely located in a legal parking space OR a licensed driver is available to remove the vehicle to a safe place.

The LAPD already enacted a policy that would allow friends or relatives of an unlicensed operator to drive a car home (and keep it safe from the hooks of a two truck) if they're caught without a license at a DUI checkpoint.

The officers' union known as the L.A. Police Protective League is way unhappy with Villaraigosa's announcement, which is seen as a way to placate Latino and immigrant constituents. Weber:

It is a sad day for Los Angeles residents because the Mayor is directing the LAPD to purposely not enforce a state law designed to protect public safety ...

First, an unlicensed driver willing to ignore the law is, at least temporarily, less likely to further violate this law because he or she will not have access to the impounded vehicle. Second, the cost and inconvenience of recovering an impounded vehicle discourages people without licenses from driving. That is precisely why the state legislature enacted the 30-day hold law.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com/@LAWeeklyNews]

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36 comments
guest
guest

Bryan- you hit the problems on the head!!

Boston Park Plaza Hotel
Boston Park Plaza Hotel

Look me up.Villarbaboso es pendejo!  He wants to cover illegal aliens by not empowering LA to join in the govt Protected Places Program and signs up to the absurd, uhh additional ample, exclusive buy 40. He is more than willing to self-discipline individuals & legal immigration law to generate advantage with his homies, the liberals that want begin location and those that want more affordable perform to select from to create their leads.Yes, we are all spending for it!  

del061
del061

Illegal Aliens do NOT need to have a Driver's License from any of our states.  How many Mexican or Canadian Nationals stop at the local DMV to obtain a Driver's License here in the United States?  How many Non-Immigrant visitors have to go to a DMV to get a DL here?

The answer is simply!  They don't have to.  They can use the DL from their native country and or obtain an International DL.

The ONLY reason they need one of our DLs is to vote, obtain social services, employment and to move freely from state to state.

Insurance
Insurance

The cops are still taking the cars away from Ppl with Insurance with no License, even if they have a driver with a valid CA driver License ready to pick up the vehicle.  Is there any way to fight this? Or where can they report this?

Benetta Leilani Eleby
Benetta Leilani Eleby

Recall the Mayor

Tink4kat
Tink4kat

OK Mayor, we pay your salary right! Are you the Mayor of Los Angeles or Mexico! I am Italian & Irish Legal by the way and so are my parents, who's parents came here the right way, worked hard, and never asked anyone to pay their way or asked for handout. And by the way taught themselves to speak ENGLISH and made sure they taught their children English not the school. They had no bi-lingual teachers in the schools, No bi-lingual anywhere and they did just fine. They raised us to be proud of American "which we are" I am tired of seeing people who are killed or ran over and these cowards leave the accident due to no license or insurance! One man I know lost his son to a man driving the wrong way, without a license or insurance and then fled to Mexico where they found him 9 months later. Tell him its OK to give this man his car back "so he can kill someone else. Don't think he will not drive that car again. Illegal is Illegal I was raised never to think I could get away with doing something that is Illegal. Driving without a license is Illegal PERIOD! Yet today they protest every time they think we are taking away their rights. What about our rights, as American Citizens. Dear Mr. Mayor, we voted you into office, we the legal Citizens of the Great United States of American. As a Senior Citizen I am so tired of being called racist, which I makes me laugh when I hear that, in my family we are   multicultural  by the way. We are all legal, and proud of it, we fly the American Flag proudly. So Mr. Mayor just who do you care about those who vote, or those who live off the backs of the American workers.They are killing innocent people or causing horrible injury to them, causing damage to their cars, hospital bills and of course who pay's for this. The person's insurance, because they surely have no automobile insurance on their car to cover damage, then they have hospital bills that they have to pay out of their pocket since the cowards has nothing. And guess who pay's for hospital bills for the Illegal drivers we do with our TAX DOLLARS. OUR MONEY. Yet try and get help when you need it, believe me you will not get any help!

Francosc_001
Francosc_001

Did you know that roughly 20% of your shitty check goes to taxes?of course you do, but you seem like an ignorant person so I'll break this down for you. When a car gets impounded the city makes 250 dollars on average. Per personDaily just of the impounds they make roughly 30,000 a day from "illegals Now look at your your $500 that you make twice a month 20% of that a month is 100 dollars Illegals are humans too there is more lazy citizens then illegal aliens , there here for a better life and they help the economy I ways your little ignorant brain can comprehend

And then again illegal immigration is not a new problem American Indians used to call it "white people"

A

Spokyguy
Spokyguy

You dumbass Californians should suffer!  You keep voting these knuckleheads in every year, but act suprised when they do this shit!  California, the new Mexico!

walton157
walton157

Yes Los Angeles is the new Mexico (wait a year or two, you'll see). My questions is, if you are illegal, why are you able to remain here? What happens after a legal driver picks your car up, what do they do, drive it again tomorrow so you can get to work and take your children to school. That is the reason isn't it, so they can get to work and remain self-sufficent members of sociey without license. Who's going to drive ?                                                                                 

Eco Fem13
Eco Fem13

I think the mayor is in legally murky water here- this is state law- he cannot stop it.  Hopefully the lawsuits will arrive- it is very dangerous to have unlicensed drivers on our roads.  What a joke the mayor is

Robert
Robert

I'm so sick and tired of people generalizing thinking all Latinos support illegals and we're all the same. WE'RE NOT.  I'm Mexican American and 1,000's of us here in Los Angeles support immigration enforcement, oppose the Dream Act and are tired of seeing the devastation to our City by the crap all over neighborhoods and illegals blatantly ignoring our laws. I'm tired of reading comments like this, "(dish washing, kid-watching, car-washing, lawn-mowing, nail-hammering, etc."  What about the billions illegals get FREE for groceries, medical, schools etc.??  Unemployment rate in LA is at about 12% yet all I see is illegals using WIC cards, free healthcare and all of us are paying for it. Now the Failure of a Mayor wants to give them their cars and serve no consequences for disrespecting our laws.  Typical ignorant Mayor who has lost most of his support since being in office. This is why the rank and file can hardly wait for him to leave and start using his real name Villar.

Stern Basqueroots
Stern Basqueroots

Excellent response! I will be borrowing this to post on Facebook!  Look me up.Villarbaboso es pendejo!  He prefers to reward illegal aliens by not allowing LA to participate in the federal Safe Communities Program and subscribes to the stupid, uhh ultra liberal, special order 40. He is more than willing to punish citizens & legal immigrants to garner favor with his homies, the liberals that want open borders and those that want more cheap labor to pick from to make their fortunes. Yes, we are all paying for it! 

Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck

@ Robert-- You go get 'em. No comment, Dennis?

Frawsty
Frawsty

Please start a Mexican-American activist group to recall this idiot Mayor. We as "crackers" will support you, but unfortunately we can't do it on our own, as the LA Times would immediately label us racist.

stevo1
stevo1

I come for visit, get treated regal,So I stay, who care I illegal?I cross border, poor and broke,Take bus, see employment folk.Nice man treat me good in there,Say I need to see welfare.Welfare say, "You come no more,We send cash right to your door."Welfare checks, they make youwealthy,

Medicaid it keep you healthy!By and by, I got plenty money,Thanks to you, American dummy.Write to friends in motherland,Tell them come as fast as you can.They come in rags and Chebbytrucks,

I buy big house with welfare bucks.They come here, we live together,More welfare checks, it gets better!Fourteen families they moving in,But neighbor's patience wearing thin.Finally, white guy moves away,Now I buy his house, and then I say,"Find more aliens for house to rent."

And in the yard I put a tent.Send for family (they just trash),But they, too, draw the welfare cash!Everything is mucho good,And soon we own the neighborhood.We have hobby--it's called breeding,Welfare pay for baby feeding.Kids need dentist? Wife need pills?We get free! We got no bills!

American crazy! He pay all year,To keep welfare running here.We think America darn good place!Too darn good for the white manrace.

If they no like us, they can go,Got lots of room in Mexico

dipr
dipr

3 days into the 30-day impound, the tow companies make a document called "notice of intent to sell car for non-payment of storage fees".  they charge an extra $70 for writing that paper.  but guess what:  they won't  take any payment before the 30 days is over!!  therefore you have been charged $70 for absolutely nothing.  you are charged for not having paid yet, but at the same time they will not take your money. what a scam !!!!

sick 'n' tired
sick 'n' tired

There's more! If your little piece of crap car doesn't sell at a price high enough to cover YOUR impound fees (really? as if I really wanted those fees), then you, the person that got your car taken away are on the hook for the rest of the fees the impound company says THEY incurred while YOUR car was on THEIR lot, taking up precious space, because they say they're not a free parking lot, you must pay them for them keeping YOUR car locked up all those days. Yes, you cannot get your car out of impound before the 30 days. If the licensed owner of the car shows up to take it out if another person was driving it and that other person was unlicesned, they still will not release the car to the licensed owner. I'd say the police impound companies have made a nice profit off of the poorest of the poor when they have their car's taken away because they are the least likely to be able to afford the fees, which now stand at about $30 a day plus all those other stupid fees they tack on. You are looking to pay somewhere's in the vicinity of $1,200 to get your car back and most poor peoples' cars aren't even worth that! That's why many people just walk away from their cars. I mean what's the point, paying for basically another 'new' car, when maybe that person paid even less for the car that's impounded.

<3 my kids
<3 my kids

It is the police department that determines whether your car is on a 30-day hold, not the towing company.  In most areas, you have to go to the police department to get a release for your vehicle.  I would not expect the tow company to store your vehicle for free.  This type of busness has a high overhead.  The companies that are selected to tow for police departments are held to a higher standard than your everyday tow company.  Most tow companies have to carry million dollar insurance policies and have staff on duty 24 hours a day.  If your car is impounded and you don't plan on picking it up, you should contact the tow company and ask if they have an Amnesty program.  This would allow you to give them the pink slip and pay a few hundred dollars, and this would relieve you from being submitted to collections.  Be aware, not all tow companies offer the amnesty.

Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck

Si...but now not for unlicensed first time offenders. Muchas gracias, majordomo, Tony Taco. Enchantado.

<3 my kids
<3 my kids

A towing company cannot charge the lien fee if the vehicle is picked up within 72 hours.  However, they must notify the DMV, the lien holder, and the interested parties soon after the 72 hours that they have the vehicle.  If you never pick the vehicle up, the lien allows the tow company to sell your vehicle and apply the money collected toward your bill.  In many cases, the car sells for less than what is owed and you may be turned over to collection for the balance.  If your vehicle is towed and put on a 30-day hold, you can have the hold lifted by going to DMV and getting your license.  If you are unable to get your license, then you shouldn't be driving.

dipr
dipr

interesting, but the fact is they are charging you $70 and accusing you of nonpayment, when they will not take your money.  pure fraud.

JesseDavis
JesseDavis

The $70 is called a lien fee, and it is prescribed by the dmv to not exceed $70 for a vehicle worth less than $4000.

This fee is charged to cover the costs of filing a lien on the vehicle, which costs the tow company, as they have to mail out notices, file reports with the DMV, and enlist the services of a lien company to enforce the lien. Only when the lien clears (35-45 days after impound normally) can they sell the vehicle at auction, to recoup the fees owed to them as prescribed by the Police Commission.

You need to understand, when your car is impounded, it's not a way to "get at" people, its a PUNISHMENT for breaking the law. your vehicle gets impounded for your violation. whether its parking in a "Tow-Away" zone (not hard to see that one!) or driving without a license.Additionally, the 30 day hold is a requirement of the law regarding unlicensed drivers, the Impound lot is NOT ALLOWED to accept payment until the law enforcement agency says it's ok. 3 reasons why it was justified to tow your car because you didn't have a license? well, pick one:A. You are not trained to drive.B. You are incapable of driving safely.C. You have done something so bad, you should not be driving anymore.No matter the situation, the reason your car got impounded for no license falls under those 3, it's not Politics, it's public safety.

Jake_V
Jake_V

douche-bag.

Anyone who changes their last name to be a combination of the couples pre-maritial names then gets divorced for infidelity pretty much sums up how much of a mindless prick this fucker is.

Love How The Big Apple and L.A. always find these lime light seeking dimwitted misled douche bag fuckers who blind the populace with mindless shit like smoking bans and quasi martial law.  I call Bullshit on all of these pricks.

Computer Forensics Expert
Computer Forensics Expert

No license, no registration and / or no insurance?  I guess only legal residents and US Citizens, have to have these to drive. 

Kir (Politicoid)
Kir (Politicoid)

That's what really pisses me off. As a libertarian I am opposed for the most part to the government controlling immigration except for safety reasons. However it's beyond unfair that those of us who are legal citizens (some maybe cause they came here and immigrated legally) are held to a standard and those that are here illegally can do pretty much whatever they want without penalty.

I think I'm going to give up my American citizenship, become a citizen of Mexico, and then hop across the border to the US for all sorts of free stuff and beneficial treatment.

Egebjerg
Egebjerg

I'm sure that is what Mayor Villar thinks. If you don't have a license, you don't need insurance.Registration, why pay that if you don't have to pay for anything else, after all the illegals are only here to have a better life, right, and make it a worse life for us when they drive a car and are in a accident, and we have to pay for the damage.

Egebjerg
Egebjerg

 Hey Mayor,

Driving a car is not a right, it is a privilege, so no one without a license should be driving period.It does not matter why you have no license (illegal alien, prior DUI's,etc.) if you don't have a license to drive a motor vehicle, you don't drive a motor vehicle.Can it be any more simple than that??

JC_LA
JC_LA

I fully agree with Bryan. I am personally a victim of an unlicensed illegal immigrant who not only broke the law once but twice by also being drunk behind the wheel. I am still til to this day working on recovering financially, emotionally, mentally not to mention physically from such a horrendous event. Why put any law abiding US citizen through such dangers? All Villaraigosa has to justify such a pathetic proposed intent is these people are "the glue to our society?" Sorry but that just a load of horse manure. We are all struggling in this economy now why add one more thing to add conflict, disagreement and turmoil. HORRIBLE.

Bansheeholic
Bansheeholic

All you people keep talking about how illegals are to blame for the accidents who screw you over by not having insurance. Prime example of a stereotypical remark. How many perfectly LEGAL born and raised AMERICANS dont have a license??? Better yet how many of those have a license but no insurance??? Fact is people of all races break the law ALL THE TIME! Just watch an episode of cops and you'll see exactly what I mean... I see just as many grade A born and raised Caucasians on there as I do any other race if not more at times. Point I'm trying to make is if your gonna make comments on whether or not you agree about an unlicensed driver getting penalized with a 30 day impound of there vehicle go ahead, that's what this is here for. But if your just gonna be an ignorant stereotypical racist please don't bother your just making the human race in general look bad... Now my opinion on the subject. Like one person said above just because you don't have a license doesn't mean you can't get insurance. With that being said while I agree that people without a license shouldn't drive people will & do do it. Some out of necessity, some just don't care but sometimes the people who have no license but absolutely need to get somewhere for some reason a lot of times are the ones who drive the best on the streets. Actually obeying the speed limits and traffic laws, why? Because they don't want to attract attention to themselves & risk getting pulled over by driving like a reckless idiot which I see licensed people do ALL THE TIME!!! And a lot of the times those are also the people who do care and actually take the time to find an insurance company who will insure there vehicle. Of course there's also a flip side to that coin with unlicensed motorist who don't give a damn and more than likely they probably don't have insurance. With all that being said I personally think that most of if not all laws need some revising. They are made so that your either on one side of the line or the other, no exceptions. Personally I think this should be treated on a case by case basis. If your stopped for driving like a lunatic, no license & no insurance you just showed that you could careless about anyone else and you do deserve to have your vehicle impounded for 30 days period! Now if you get stopped for something small but were driving perfectly fine obeying all traffic laws and have insurance BUT were found to have no license and it is your first no license offense I believe you should be allowed to leave your vehicle parked legally and/or have someone pick it up. The legal fees from driving without a license will usually be enough to deter the motorist who actually do care into not driving till they have there license there's no need to try and screw them over for making a mistake but actually care enough to ensure that they were not putting anyone in harms way cuz I think everyone could agree that whether you have a license or not doesn't automatically mean that you actually care enough to obey all the traffic laws, unless of course you are one of those people who could careless who they endanger on the road so long as you get from point A to point B as quickly as possible yet consider yourself high and mighty cuz hey, at least your not a no good criminal from another country who's driving without a license right???

anonymous
anonymous

Next time, sue the City of LA & Mayor Villar personally for damages caused by illegal, unlicensed drivers.

Bryan Herbert
Bryan Herbert

Though I do not live within city limits I do drive within city limits so I must say this is some serious bullshit. It doesn't matter what race you are or what city you live in, if you are unlicensed you shouldn't be driving PERIOD. I also don't care if the unlicensed driver is a contributing member to society, unlicensed drivers can NOT purchase insurance which means if they are at fault in an accident us licensed folks are stuck with the medical and auto repair/rental bills. Why should those of us who live within the law suffer because somebody else chooses to live outside the law. An even better question is why is the mayor choosing to aid folks in breaking the law by giving them their cars back?

Mayor V.,Would this plan still sound like a good idea if you were out riding your bike and happened to get hit by an unlicensed driver? Think about it.

Rafaelp
Rafaelp

Actually they can have insurance infinity provides insurance for unlicensed drivers

sick 'n' tired
sick 'n' tired

It's not even that they are unlicensed due to not being able to pass the DMV tests, it's that they cannot legally obtain a license. I was unlicensed for many years and I was always insured. Don't even ask me how it is possible that this law is in place and how insurance companies can still make policies for unlicensed drivers. (Maybe that should be looked into as well?) The jist of the mayor trying to help out these people, unlicensed drivers, is that once their car is taken away, the person must wait 30 days to recover it. But wait! If the owner of the car has no license, they cannot recover their car. So, once a person has their car taken away, that's it. It's gone. Ask me how many cars I've lost over the years. Yeah, it was always due to me not having the money to pay a ticket that began this. Now what was my ticket? I was pulled over more than ten years ago because there was too much smoke coming out of my tailpipe. I was unaware of this. This is a thing that could have been repaired. I was endangering anyone. I've been driving since I was 16, as a licensed driver. I took my driver's ed in high school back then. After that, I was pulled over for unspecified reasons. One that happened recently within the past year that really pissed me off was that the cop said I rolled a stop sign. Oh please! I actually argued with him. I said, "I saw you start following me way back about half a mile away. Do you really think I'm going to roll a stop sign with you behind me? You just want to see my license. Well here it is!" Yeah, I've had my license for some years now. I had picked up my son from work. He got out at midnight. The only thing this cop pulled us over for was being brown after midnight. All of us brown people must be up to no good. Argh! This happened some years before too where the A-Hole cop pulled my son out of the car and was questioning him. My son was barely 18 and had just gotten off of work. He was in his uniform! I said,"Don't you see his uniform?! I'm just driving home!" The reason we were pulled over? The cop said it LOOKED like we were speeding. The spped limit was 45mph. They pulled out of a small street. Yeah right. If you're standing still of course it's going to look like that. My sister also got pulled over. She was under the speed limit, which was 50mph, yet the cop had the nerve to ask her, "Where are you going in such a hurry?" When he looked at her license, he asked, "Wow, you're far from home. What are you doing out here?" She was living with me at the time. She had to tell them her whole life story. She also told him she was under the speed limit and he said, "You're sure about that?" She said, "Well, you're driving behind me, of course I'm staying under the speed limit." Again, really?! She had gone to pick up my son from work, yet again, my son has always gotten out pretty late from work and this is the type of harrassment we have to put up with. Oh, and BTW, none of us are illegals! I'm a 42 year old mother of five, that's what I am!

<3 my kids
<3 my kids

You are incorrect when you say "But wait! If the owner of the car has no license, they cannot recover their car."  The registered owner can pick up their car as long as they have a picture id (check with your local tow company to see what forms they will accept) AND a licensed driver.  It is better to shpw up with two licensed drivers, one to drive the car out that was impounded and the other to drive the car out that they arrived in.  If not, the unlicensed driver can be pulled over again for driving without a license and that vehicle can be taken for 30 days.

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