Even better than parents getting punished for what their (teen/adult) children do!

[littlelolligagged]

Yep

"I don't think I'm a criminal just because I was driving without a license," says 21-year-old Jessica Colotl.

But she is a criminal, according to federal immigration law.

That's because she's in the U.S. illegally.

The fact that she got caught means the Kennesaw State University senior will probably be deported to her native Mexico.

In an exclusive interview with 11 Alive News on Wednesday, Jessica says she didn't really understand the law when she moved here with her family at age 11.

But she admits by the time she graduated from a metro Atlanta area high school, she realized she was illegal.

That reality caught up with her six weeks ago.

"That's when my nightmare started," she told us.

After a March 29th traffic stop, Jessica was arrested by a KSU campus police officer because she couldn't produce a driver's license...only an expired Mexican passport.

Thanks to the Cobb County Sheriff Department's participation in federal program 287(g), Colotl was turned over to federal immigration authorities and held in jail for 35 days.

"For some reason I thought that since that law targets only criminals, I was going to be immune from it," she says, "The reality is that I was wrong."

Jessica is now free again and a judge has granted her a one year deferment.

But this time next year she expects to be deported.

"I do understand that there are laws that need to be followed and if I have to go back to my country, to Mexico, then I will have to go back," she adds.

But after living half of her life here, she feels this is now her home.

Jessica's case has lit another fire in the debate over U.S. immigration law.

Some Georgia politicians are even using it to try and score points.

Some want KSU President Daniel Papp punished for supporting Colotl.

The University issued a written statement confirming Jessica's case and admitting they have intervened on her behalf.

"KSU officials remained steadfast on doing everything in our power to assist Ms. Colotl in completing her studies and degree program," it reads, in part.

Jessica wants to finish college and graduate next year, if she can.

But it could be even more costly than she thought.

She was granted in-state tuition because she graduated from a Georgia high school.

She says she did not qualify for a HOPE scholarship.

Under current state law undocumented students may be admitted to Georgia colleges, but must pay much higher out-of-state tuition.

That law was passed after Colotl entered KSU in 2006, so it's not clear if it will now apply to her.

The Political Science major is shy about all of the furor her case has created, but she hopes it will help open people's eyes to what she thinks are unfair and unevenly enforced immigration laws.

"I was trying to fulfill my dream of getting an education; I don't see how that is a crime," she says, "This is a story for everyone to see that not all illegal immigrants are criminals."

While I'm sure Lewk shares the opinion of most of the commenters on the news story, I do think this is going to cause a royal shitstorm for the political races for the year. Unless, of course, all the politicians just go with the popular sentiment.

I have a huge problem with the idea of her being punished. She didn't choose to come here illegally as a child. Is she really supposed to punish herself by not attending college because of errors her parents made? Be content with working at the chicken processing plant (they employ a lot of illegals) for the rest of her life?

I'm glad the judge gave her a deferment to finish school, I just hope she can manage to find a way to pay the increased tuition. Seems kind of stupid to me that she has to pay out-of-state tuition.

[Khendraja'aro]

Yeah, we have kind-of-the-same problem over here in Germany. Kids whose parents' asylum request was finally denied being deported into their "homeland".

Only problem: They arrived here at age of 6 or 7, have now finished the gymnasium (thus actually gaining the right to attend university) and who have next-to-none connections to their supposed "homeland" anymore.

[GGT]

I saw this story on tv. Regardless of the immigration issue, she was enrolled in school without showing her birth certificate? That seems odd to me since we have to provide that in PA (to prove age). Another unrelated story was about that HS star basketball player who turned out to be 22 years old.

Not that public schools should be checking citizenship, but WTF? Also, what are Georgia's requirements for getting a driver's license?

[littlelolligagged]

You don't have to prove age to go to college.

And yes, public schools do check birth certificates, but I am fairly certain they are forbidden from checking immigration status in any way. A birth certificate from Mexico would be a perfectly legal document. You don't get replacement birth certificates from everywhere you move to, after all. They ask for social security numbers, but you can sign a waiver refusing to provide it with no questions asked.

They do that to protect children.

License requirements

Beginning January 1, 2003, no person may be issued a Georgia driver’s license or identification card without providing a social security number at the time of issuance or renewal. Once your social security number is on file, you will not be required to provide it again. Your social security number will remain confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone except as required by law.

It is not necessary for you to bring in your original social security card. However, it is important that we record the correct number. The number will be verified with the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the status of your driver’s license may be affected if an incorrect social security number is provided.

[littlelolligagged]

There were new developments Thursday in the controversy surrounding a Kennesaw State University student who is not a legal citizen.

Channel 2 Action News received an e-mail from the Cobb County sheriff who filed a warrant for her arrest.

Jessica Colotl is a senior at KSU. Police said they caught her driving without a license and sent her to an immigration detention center.

The sheriff said she gave them a false address while in custody, which is a felony charge.

Some want KSU president Dan Papp fired because he wrote a letter to federal officials on Colotl’s behalf.

“She’s here illegally and she’s taking slots from people who have played by the rules and have become legal residents or who are citizens. The rule of the law has to be upheld,” said Phil Kent of the Americans for Immigration Control.

Colotl’s friends told Channel 2 Action News reporter Lori Geary that her parents brought her to the United States when she was 10 years old.

“It is sad that Ms. Colotl’s parents chose to enter the United States illegally and ultimately put her in this position,” said Sheriff Neil Warren of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. “However, Ms. Colotl knew that she was in the United States without authority to be here and voluntarily chose to operate a vehicle without a driver’s license; which is a violation of Georgia law. She has further complicated her situation with her blatant disregard for Georgia Law by giving false information.”

KSU officials said they granted Colotl in-state tuition because she graduated from a Georgia high school. School officials said they will now charge her out-of-state tuition.

Cobb County Sheriff’s Office officials continue to look for Colotl.

I'm pretty sure she winds up not graduating.

[GGT]

Ah, so she knew the requirements, and that's why she was driving without a license. She must have known that's illegal....a Poli-Sci major.

I sympathize with her situation, but she could have avoided the head ache by just not driving without a license.

[Lewkowski]

So let me get this straight.

She knew she was illegal. She was driving without a license. She committed a felony offense for providing a false address. And she thinks she's not a criminal?

[littlelolligagged]

Why exactly would being a poli-sci major necessarily mean she knew driving without a license was illegal? You think they have required classes on silly shit like that?

I would assume she knew there were laws against driving without a license because she is presumably intelligent enough to graduate high school and attend college. She might not, however, have realized that giving a false address to the police is a felony.

§ 40-5-20. License required; surrender of prior licenses; local licenses prohibited

(a) No person, except those expressly exempted in this chapter, shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state unless such person has a valid driver's license under this chapter for the type or class of vehicle being driven. Any person who is a resident of this state for 30 days shall obtain a Georgia driver's license before operating a motor vehicle in this state. Any violation of this subsection, except the violation of driving with an expired license, or a violation of Code Section 40-5-29 if such person produces in court a license issued to such person and valid at the time of such person's arrest, shall be punished as provided in Code Section 40-5-121. Any court having jurisdiction over traffic offenses in this state shall report to the department the name and other identifying information of any individual convicted of driving without a license.



§ 40-5-121. Driving while license suspended or revoked

(a) Except when a license has been revoked under Code Section 40-5-58 as a habitual violator, any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state without being licensed as required by subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-20 or at a time when his or her privilege to so drive is suspended, disqualified, or revoked shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for a first conviction thereof and, upon a first conviction thereof or plea of nolo contendere within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, shall be fingerprinted and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two days nor more than 12 months, and there may be imposed in addition thereto a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00; provided, however, that at the time of the hearing such person shall not be guilty of such offense if he or she presents the court with proof of a valid driver's license issued by this state. Such fingerprints, taken upon conviction, shall be forwarded to the Georgia Crime Information Center where an identification number shall be assigned to the individual for the purpose of tracking any future violations by the same offender. For the second and third conviction within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, such person shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than 12 months, and there may be imposed in addition thereto a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,500.00. For the fourth or subsequent conviction within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, such person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years, and there may be imposed in addition thereto a fine of not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00

They should just make it possible for illegal immigrants to get licenses and insurance, instead.

[GGT]

I meant she might be a bit "dim" if she graduated from HS and went to college, but made that comment about "criminals".

I agree about the driver's licenses and insurance, though. Should be easier to obtain both, and not be tied to citizenship.

[littlelolligagged]

I meant she might be a bit "dim" if she graduated from HS and went to college, but made that comment about "criminals".

I agree about the driver's licenses and insurance, though. Should be easier to obtain both, and not be tied to citizenship.

I don't necessarily think that she believes she hasn't broken any laws.

More along the lines of "I'm not off robbing liquor stores and killing rival gang members, and I am trying to accomplish something with my life" = not a criminal.

Of course, that's just my interpretation.

It's part of the great state of Georgia's get rid of all the "illegal scum" campaign. We're pretty much as nasty about it as Arizona.

Standing in a group in a parking lot = day laborers looking for work = misdemeanor = show me your info and better hope your forger does good work, because I'm running that license number.

[Loki]

She didn't get the Hope Scholarship, which has a requirement of 3.0 high school GPA. So no, she doesn't seem particularly bright.

[littlelolligagged]

At least she managed to pass the graduation exam.

[Loki]

Only 10-20% fail the individual exams (and this number would have been lower when she graduated), and presumably you can retake them if you do.

[littlelolligagged]

Only 10-20% fail the individual exams (and this number would have been lower when she graduated), and presumably you can retake them if you do.

The fail rate wouldn't have necessarily been lower when she graduated. It used to be a lot worse.

I think you are allowed 2 retakes per section.

At any rate, I'd hardly call her particularly bright; but not necessarily stupid, either.


Just an example from a few years ago from one county, and that is the extent of my looking for this.

[Loki]

Her inability to realize that doing things illegally is indeed illegal suggests otherwise, especially when she must have known the consequences (and if she didn't, that doesn't exactly work in her favor either).

[Illusions]

So let me get this straight.

She knew she was illegal.

So let me get this straight. Say at age 17 you found out that your parents actually came here illegally, meaning that you weren't, and aren't a US citizen. You'd truck your ass back to where-ever they came from and would make sure to inform immigration of the mistake, and graciously accept whatever punishment they decided to dole out to you? You'd also be okay with being labeled a criminal (since technically you are there illegally) by someone else with a similar mindset as yourself?

[Loki]

So let me get this straight. Say at age 17 you found out that your parents actually came here illegally, meaning that you weren't, and aren't a US citizen. You'd truck your ass back to where-ever they came from and would make sure to inform immigration of the mistake, and graciously accept whatever punishment they decided to dole out to you? You'd also be okay with being labeled a criminal (since technically you are there illegally) by someone else with a similar mindset as yourself?

I'd make sure not to drive without a license or lie to police.

[Ominous Gamer]

That seems odd to me since we have to provide that in PA (to prove age). Another unrelated story was about that HS star basketball player who turned out to be 22 years old.

There are more than a handfull of cases every year of children coming into the school system without the proper paperwork. From crackhead moms who drop of their kids with good people without the correct paperwork or what not. There are exceptions to the rule you are bringing up, and there are reasons.

The kids who don't exist

[CitizenCain]

So let me get this straight.

She knew she was illegal. She was driving without a license. She committed a felony offense for providing a false address. And she thinks she's not a criminal?

Kill yourself.

Seriously. Everyone's a criminal in America today, because so much day-to-day behavior is regulated and legislated without our knowledge. So please, kill yourself. Both because you're a criminal (and you advocate summary executions for criminals), and because it would just make the world a better place in general.

I'd make sure not to drive without a license or lie to police.

Not always an option.

Especially with the retarded new laws every state's passed since 9/11, making it such that you have to prove you're here legally to get a driver's license, so if you're not here legally, (and you live in the 95% of America without public transport) you're going to have to break the law to get around. Oh, and it's not like you can get car insurance without a driver's license either, so hopefully you'll kill some politician's kid, and not be able to pay a dime out to the fuck-stick who created the situation in the first place.

[Nessus]

if you're not here legally[...], you're going to have to break the law

Funny how that works out, huh

[CitizenCain]

Indeed. But the point of driver's licenses isn't to create another petty crime to charge illegals with, it's to make sure the people driving are actually capable of driving, and thus enhance the public safety... but now with these new immigration requirements on driver's licenses, the law is pretty strongly running contrary to its own intent. Instead of licensing people to drive so we know they're safe.... we'll use state driver's licenses as a proxy for federal immigration documents... and make an even bigger mess of what's already a pretty epic cluster fuck.

Yippie! USA #1!!!!

[LittleFuzzy]

Yep



While I'm sure Lewk shares the opinion of most of the commenters on the news story, I do think this is going to cause a royal shitstorm for the political races for the year. Unless, of course, all the politicians just go with the popular sentiment.

I have a huge problem with the idea of her being punished. She didn't choose to come here illegally as a child. Is she really supposed to punish herself by not attending college because of errors her parents made? Be content with working at the chicken processing plant (they employ a lot of illegals) for the rest of her life?

I'm glad the judge gave her a deferment to finish school, I just hope she can manage to find a way to pay the increased tuition. Seems kind of stupid to me that she has to pay out-of-state tuition.

Ditto on being glad the judge granted her a deferment. And those legislators objecting to the university intervening can go fuck themselves sideways. The university is damn well supposed to be an advocate for its students.

Why exactly would being a poli-sci major necessarily mean she knew driving without a license was illegal? You think they have required classes on silly shit like that?

I would assume she knew there were laws against driving without a license because she is presumably intelligent enough to graduate high school and attend college. She might not, however, have realized that giving a false address to the police is a felony.

Uh. . . I'm always leery of accusations of criminal intent when it comes to college students' addresses, particularly if they live on campus There's a great deal of confusion among students *and parents* about what constitutes a valid address. College mail box? The college itself? Parent's billing address?

[GGT]

Yippie! USA #1!!!!

It's Go go USA #1!

[RandBlade]

Driving without licence is a criminal offence.

Presumably she was also therefore driving without insurance, which I assume is also a criminal offence in the US too as it is here.

Anyone who drives without a licence and/or insurance is a very serious criminal in my mind. Her immigration status having no bearing to it.

[Ominous Gamer]

Over here, at least in Florida, the insurance is for the car, not the driver. They use who is listed to drive the car to calculate the rate, but its not illegal to drive someone else's insured car if you don't have insurance.

[Dreadnaught]

I sympathise and I also don't sympathise at the same time.

I sympathise because this is clearly another example of our insane immigration system failing. It's essential that we nuke our existing system and replace it with something reasonable, simpler and make it easier to become a citizen.

But I also struggle to sympathize because she came here when she was 11 —*I have trouble believing that it took her until the end of HS to realize she wasn't a legal US citizen. She didn't notice at the age of 11 that, err, everyone was speaking a different language? She could have figured this out by the end of a 6th grade civics class.

[CitizenCain]

Her immigration status having no bearing to it.

Except that her immigration status prevented her from getting a valid license (as Georgia requires immigration documentation or proof citizenship to get a license), which prevents her from getting insurance. So, actually, her immigration status is [probably] the entire reason she doesn't have a license or insurance.

But I also struggle to sympathize because she came here when she was 11 —*I have trouble believing that it took her until the end of HS to realize she wasn't a legal US citizen. She didn't notice at the age of 11 that, err, everyone was speaking a different language? She could have figured this out by the end of a 6th grade civics class.

Um, what's that got to do with anything, again?

Plenty of people immigrate here with their parents *legally* and don't speak the language. How often do you get asked for proof of legal status anyway, especially when you're a minor, and living as a dependent on your parents? She probably realized she wasn't here legally when she started doing all the "end of HS" stuff - went to move out, apply for college, etc., and found out that she didn't have the documents everyone was asking for, because she wasn't here legally.

[littlelolligagged]

Her parents tell her she's moving to America for a better life. She goes to school, where she meets other kids who are also learning English as a second language. Some of them are probably here illegally, but some are actually legal citizens/residents. At any rate, it's not something that a parent would likely go into with a kid that age, because they are rather inclined to telling what they know.

And, it didn't say it took her until the end of high school, she said she knew by the end of high school. And still, what choice did she have? Run away from home to be deported? Leave her family when she turned 18 to go back to a country she doesn't consider home anymore? There is no program in place for these kids, after all. The sad thing is that, if she had chosen to get knocked up with her "anchor baby" as it was phrased in some other thread - well, she'd be much better off than she is now after trying to make a decent life for herself a possibility.

[Hazir]

Well, I think that there are two angles. The first is the lack of a title to live in the US. I think the claim that this constitutes a crime is ridiculous. I don´t care either if populists are re-writing laws to make them say the opposite. I do actually think that this means the college should charge her the higher tuition fees and I don't really have a problem with her not being able to obtain a driver's license or insurance.

The second angle is that of somebody driving without a driver's license or insurance and lying to the police. These three do put her in a different corner because as far as I am concerned she did things she shouldn't have done at all. These things being things that make the label of 'criminal' stick a lot better than her immigration status. Sure, people in the US are used to using cars. But that doesn't mean that life is entirely impossible if you don't drive one (yourself). She could have opted for other solutions for her problems that didn't involve breaking these laws. Also lying to the police is always bad; if you think giving the correct information is going to cause you problems you always have the option (much better option) of not talking to them at all.

[GGT]

Lolli, Georgia colleges must admit students without a SS number...?

Pretty sure my son had to show a state-issued photo ID and give his SS # to register at a PA university, and get in-state tuition rates.