Washington Traffic Law Blog : Washington Traffic Lawyer & Attorney : Jon Zimmerman Law Firm : Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma

Correspondents Julia Preston and Robert Gebeloff recently published an article in The New York Times on illegal immigrant drivers in which these journalists wrote about how Some Unlicensed Drivers Who Risk More Than a Fine can face deportation in traffic cases.  

What many people don't understand, however, is that even licensed drivers who are immigrants can face the risk of deportation and other immigration consequences that can have a serious impact on their livelihood and the lives of their families.  How can this happen?  

What used to be seen as a simple traffic ticket may not always be so, especially for the immigrant driver.  For example, in many municipalities, prosecutors might choose to refile--even when they should not--civil infractions as criminal offenses.  These criminal offenses, if they turn into convictions, can lead to immigration violations if the offenses are crimes of moral turpitude, crimes that carry serious public safety risks, or both.  Even with civil infractions, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) routinely contact courts to obtain case docketing information on case records, even on traffic infractions.  The federal government is looking at state court records of immigrants, and immigrants should be concerned.    

Unfortunately, the risk of examination, and thus an immigration hold, is becoming more frequent for drivers in many states, including Washington.  Certain drivers are at greater risk than others.  For example, in the State of Washington, Hispanic drivers are at great risk of getting pulled over for a driving offense and having an immigration problem because in addition to a large Hispanic population in the state, Hispanic drivers are disproportionately unlicensed.  Washington, New Mexico, and Utah currently allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver licenses; yet in Washington, 38% of Hispanic drivers killed in crashes between 2000-2009 were unlicensed (contrast this with 19% in New Mexico and 43% in Utah), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Nationally, the number stood at 35% for the same time period.  

In addition, in the State of Washington, Hispanic drivers are increasingly targeted by the Washington State Patrol.  As of the end of 2010, even though the Hispanic population of the state accounts for just over 10% of the state's overall population, to date 80% of the WSP's Most Wanted fugitives are Hispanic.  80% of illegal immigrants nationally are also Hispanic.  

What will also have an effect on immigrant drivers is the federal government's emphasis on empowering state law enforcement to question, arrest, and detain illegal immigrants after routine traffic stops.  Perhaps most controversial is ICE's 287(g) program, which local police agencies can join.  Under the program, the federal government trains local police officers to question and detain--by placing immigration holds (detainers) on suspected illegal immigrants so that when a release from a local jail would normally occur, the inmate is not really released but transferred to federal custody.  As the New York Times observes, the program is designed to hone in on "criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or a danger to the community."  Vanessa Kosky, a defense attorney in Georgia, believes that most illegal immigrants caught up in the 287(g) program are not terrible drivers.  She states: "These are not D.U.I.'s.  These are not people who are putting people in danger."  

Whatever the case may be, this phenomenon doesn't just affect Hispanic immigrants from Mexico and unlicensed drivers.  In my own practice, I have also seen licensed immigrant drivers in Washington from Canada, Asia, and Europe who can have many problems with courts and immigration.  

Although all drivers should contact an attorney who understands traffic offenses when these drivers receive a notice of a traffic violation, what is clear is that immigrant drivers face a special, heightened risk of other problems such as detention and deportation.  Immigrant drivers should not try to deal with these offenses and the American legal system by themselves.  Contacting an attorney can often help protect one's rights.  

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A frequent question drivers have for me when they receive a speeding ticket or other type of traffic ticket is which box they should check before they return the ticket.  A few years ago I wrote a little bit about what to do when you get a traffic ticket and the same really holds true:  read the ticket, and then figure out which box to check.  What box should I check when I get a ticket for negligent driving in the second degree, speeding, or failing to signal?  

The first two boxes are really no choices at all if you wish to challenge your ticket, whether it's a speeding infraction, failure to yield infraction, or a ticket for multiple infractions.  This is true whether you get the speeding ticket in Snohomish or Seattle, Clyde Hill or Kirkland, Bellevue or Bellingham. The reason is that with the first box, you're just paying the ticket.  With the second box, you are asking for a reduction in the fine.  What's wrong with that you ask?  Nothing if you like paying higher insurance premiums for moving violations and having a mark against your driver's license that can affect your driving privilege and even your job.  In fact, with the second box, some infractions (like speeding in a school zone or speeding in a construction zone) cannot have their fines reduced (but you're not told that when you get the ticket).  

The choice for fighting your Seattle speeding ticket or your Pierce County failure to yield to an emergency vehicle citation, to give a couple examples, is to contest the ticket.  You do that by checking the last choice.  It's true - the agency tasked with designing these infractions saved the best choice for last.  If you want a chance at keeping the ticket from affecting your insurance, your job, and even your driving privilege, the contested hearing box is the one you want.  

Now it's true that not every type of ticket affects insurance, your job, and your driving privilege, but if you're not sure, it's always a good idea to check the contested hearing box and find out from an experienced Seattle traffic attorney what the consequences are for a particular infraction.  If you decide not to fight the ticket, you can always pay the amount on the ticket prior to the hearing.  But it's often very difficult--if not impossible--to get a hearing after you've missed the deadline (15 days to request a hearing from the date you are issued the infraction, slightly longer if the ticket is mailed to you).  You have nothing to lose by preserving your right to a contested hearing.

Practice Tip:  When you check the contested hearing box for your traffic ticket, make sure you do two more things:  make a copy of the ticket for your attorney and/or your records, and mail the original ticket to the court certified and return receipt requested.  Why do you want to mail it this way?  Because courts lose paperwork.  With thousands of tickets each day and millions each year just in the State of Washington, courts are going to lose stuff.  They are going to misplace paperwork.  Why have that happen to your case?  A certified mail slip helps show a court that you mailed something, and a return receipt shows that someone signed for what you mailed.  Having both a certified mail slip and a return receipt is a good idea in the event the court or the post office loses your paperwork.  Your local U.S. Post Office will help you with the proper forms so that you can mail your ticket back to the court, whether you got the ticket in Spokane, Cle Elum, Tacoma, or Everett.  

Requesting a contested hearing is the only choice that allows you, when you respond to a traffic ticket in Washington State, to challenge the citation(s) and attempt to get your ticket dismissed; to not pay a monetary penalty (bail amount); and to keep your driving record clear of citations for insurance purposes. In my practice, I strongly support #3. People do not come to me for #1 or #2, and they shouldn't.  Checking the third box on the back of the ticket is the only way to have the opportunity to avoid a monetary cost to the State AND to keep your insurance rates reasonable. Often, the cost of hiring me to represent you is much smaller than the potential increase in insurance costs that a driver could face if he or she is found to have committed the infraction. And sometimes, if you choose to have me represent you, you might not even have to come to court, which can save you the expense of taking time off work. In my practice, I can't guarantee that I'll win every time, but I can say with confidence that I will fight hard to get you the best possible result every time, and hopefully a result that will save you money on your insurance and keep your driving privilege intact. Before you decide to pay a lot of money to the government and to your insurance company, call or e-mail me for a free evaluation of your traffic ticket in Washington State.  

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