The law was initially meant to help combat terrorism, but critics point out that now it is being used to target anyone the police suspect of being in the US illegally.
A Louisiana Appellate Court struck down a state law which makes it a felony for an immigrant to drive without “documents that demonstrate they are in the country legally.” According to the Huffington Post, Circuit Court Judge Sylvia Cooks wrote in her ruling that the state of Louisiana lacks the “Constitutional authority” to enforce Revised Statute 14:100.13. She also pointed out that the law is “trumped by federal immigration legislation, rendering it further obsolete.”
The state law calls for a maximum punishment of one year imprisonment and a fine of $1,000 for anyone who is not a citizen and cannot “prove their legal US status to police when pulled over.” The law also states that the license of the immigrant is to be canceled, and the US Immigration and Naturalization Services are to be informed “immediately.”
Frank Barber, the attorney for a Honduran man who was arrested in southern Louisiana and jailed for more than 3 months for “driving without documentation, said the law is used by the police to “target Hispanics.” He said, “They’re just shaking people down unnecessarily.”
The state has not yet responded publicly to the ruling, but if the Attorney General decides to appeal Judge Cooks’ decision it will move up to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
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