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<blockquote data-quote="Babagounj" data-source="post: 783076" data-attributes="member: 12952">Berkeley won’t impound cars for 30 daysBy Doug OakleyBerkeley VoiceIllegal immigrants pulled over for minor traffic violations in&nbsp; Berkeley will no longer have their cars impounded for 30 days, thanks to&nbsp; a new police policy here.Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan agreed to the change last month and is now training officers on the new policy, he said.City Manager Phil Kamlarz said in a memo to city staff that “This&nbsp; policy will prevent those who simply cannot get a driver’s license, in&nbsp; many cases due to their immigration status, from having their vehicles&nbsp; impounded …”Meehan said the new policy was not necessarily designed to make it&nbsp; easier on illegal immigrants, but will benefit anyone who “never got a&nbsp; license for whatever reason” and is designed to “balance safety and a&nbsp; reasonable level of law enforcement.”The new policy gives officers discretion whether to impound a car for&nbsp; 30 days, a situation which can cost the car’s owner about $2,500 in&nbsp; fees. Cars still will be towed at the officers discretion but not held&nbsp; for 30 days.Members of Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action said they&nbsp; have been lobbying the police department for two years for the change to&nbsp; make it easier on some of their members who are illegal immigrants.&nbsp; California requires proof of legal presence in the United States to get a&nbsp; driver’s license.“Those people should not be afraid to drive without a license.”&nbsp; In addition to changing the policy, Ibarra said Meehan has pledged to&nbsp; train his officers and employees to be more sensitive to the needs of&nbsp; illegal immigrants who need to drive but technically cannot.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Babagounj, post: 783076, member: 12952"] [B]Berkeley won’t impound cars for 30 days By Doug Oakley Berkeley Voice[/B] Illegal immigrants pulled over for minor traffic violations in Berkeley will no longer have their cars impounded for 30 days, thanks to a new police policy here. Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan agreed to the change last month and is now training officers on the new policy, he said. City Manager Phil Kamlarz said in a memo to city staff that “[COLOR=maroon][B]This policy will prevent those who simply cannot get a driver’s license, in many cases due to their immigration status, from having their vehicles impounded[/B][/COLOR] …” Meehan said the new policy was not necessarily designed to make it easier on illegal immigrants, but will benefit anyone who “never got a license for whatever reason” and is designed to “balance safety and a reasonable level of law enforcement.” The new policy gives officers discretion whether to impound a car for 30 days, a situation which can cost the car’s owner about $2,500 in fees. Cars still will be towed at the officers discretion but not held for 30 days. Members of Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action said they have been lobbying the police department for two years for the change to make it easier on some of their members who are illegal immigrants. California requires proof of legal presence in the United States to get a driver’s license. “[COLOR=maroon][B]Those people should not be afraid to drive without a license[/B][/COLOR].” In addition to changing the policy, Ibarra said Meehan has pledged to train his officers and employees to be more sensitive to the needs of illegal immigrants who need to drive but technically cannot. [/QUOTE]

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