Driving the immigration debate

New license law divides Oregon as police and politicians weigh in

By Christian Gaston

The Forest Grove News-Times, Feb 20, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (33 Reader comments)

courtesy Erik Sorensen

Thousands of people protested in Salem last Monday as lawmakers debated new rules that will require individuals to show proof of identity, such as a U.S. birth certificate, when they get an Oregon driver’s license. Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed the legislation on Friday.

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On Jan. 20, a Forest Grove police officer notices a westbound white Ford Explorer weaving in and out of its lane on Pacific Avenue. He pulls the driver over near Cedar Street.

The man behind the wheel, according to the police report, has no identification, exhibits bloodshot eyes and is slurring his words.

A search of the vehicle turns up a glass pipe with what police say is methamphetamine residue.

Luis Cuevas-Arauza refuses to take a breathalyzer test, and the officer prepares to arrest the 34-year-old Hillsboro man for DUII.

When the officer runs his name through his patrol car’s onboard computer, he finds that this isn’t Cuevas-Arauza’s first run-in with police.

The man has six outstanding warrants for his arrest dating back to 2002, when Cuevas-Arauza was charged with DUII but failed to appear in court.

“That is clearly the kind of guy who’s eventually going to kill somebody,” says Forest Grove Police Capt. Aaron Ashbaugh. “It’s just a ticking time bomb when somebody like that is driving.”

When the Forest Grove police brought Cuevas-Arauza to the Washington County Jail for booking, sheriff’s deputies filled out a form and faxed it off to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The form helps Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers catch people who are in the U.S. illegally when they go through the county jail system.

ICE officials quickly put a hold on Cuevas-Arauza’s release, meaning that as soon as Washington County adjudicates his case, he’ll wind up in the custody of ICE officials, who will determine his residency status.

He likely will be deported.

New rules

Cases like Cuevas-Arauza’s have driven a divisive national debate on immigration reform, a debate which last week played out in Salem as lawmakers adopted new rules for acquiring an Oregon driver’s license.

But if anti-immigration groups see those living in the country illegally as criminals more likely to drive drunk and deal drugs, Cornelius Police Chief Paul Rubenstein isn’t buying it.

According to city officials, about 40 percent of Cornelius’ 10,895 residents are Hispanic, and of those, about half aren’t U.S. citizens. They’ll likely be unable to get driver’s licenses under the state’s new rules, which Rubenstein thinks is a step backward.

“What it will do is make those people who are not here legally more afraid to contact us, because if we ask them for ID and they can’t produce it, they’ll think, ‘Am I going to get in trouble for not being here legally?’” Rubenstein said.

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