Gwinnett County has been participating in a controversial program with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that targets illegal immigrants for deportation by checking for unlicensed drivers in routine traffic stops. All motorists -- not just illegal immigrants -- are affected, including those on the road despite a driver's license suspension, underage teen drivers, and others.

The program, known as "287(g)," appears to have resulted in more than a 50% reduction in arrests for driving without a license. According to Sheriff Butch Conway, 1,498 people have been cited for unlicensed driving in Gwinnett County since November 2009, when the County joined the program. Over the same period last year, police had cited 3,530 people for driving without a license.

"I would have to credit 287(g) with that drop," Conway said in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "There are increased repercussions to being arrested." Cobb, Hall and Whitfield counties, as well as the Georgia Department of Public Safety, are also participating in the ICE program.

ICE Unlicensed Driver Program Gives Some Immigration Enforcement Powers to Local Police

The idea behind Ice's 287(g) program is to use the fact that illegal immigrants in Georgia do not qualify for driver's licenses as a quick way to screen for citizenship. Although some unregistered aliens may have driver's licenses, many immigrant drivers drive without attempting to obtain a driver's license legally or illegally.

Through the program, local sheriff's deputies are trained in some immigration functions and given the power to screen arrestees for their immigration status. When officers pull over an unlicensed driver, they can now run an immigration status check and, if appropriate, turn the driver over to ICE for deportation. 

A first offense of driving without a license or while your license is suspended or revoked is a misdemeanor in Georgia. For U.S. citizens and legal residents, the penalty can range two days to up to a year in jail, as well as a fine of $500-$1,000.

Fewer Arrests May Not Mean Fewer Undocumented Drivers

Illegal immigrants haven't left the county, said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Latino Association of Elected Officials in the AJC interview. He suspects that undocumented aliens are being more vigilant and limiting their driving in response to the ICE program. The reason is simple, according to Gonzalez: people just don't have a choice.

"It's not that I'm an advocate for people to drive without a license," he told the AJC. "People should have a license. But the fact of the matter is, undocumented immigrants don't have access because of their immigration status and public transit is not an option in many of these areas."

He noted that Spanish-language radio stations have been broadcasting information about road blocks and areas where enforcement is heavy. People are also texting warnings to each other.

People are also actively working to help undocumented immigrants who can't legally drive. Reverend Antonio Mansogo of Ministerio Pentecostal de Atlanta church in Norcross told the AJC that his congregation has dedicated a full-time driver and the church's bus to help parishioners get around and attend church, regardless of their immigration status.

"As a good pastor, we are very concerned about our people, so what we are doing now is a prevention approach," Mansogo told the AJC.

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