Michigan Driving Laws

Feds crack down on illegal immigrants in Michigan

When Troy police spotted Miguel Rojas-Villanueva last October, the 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico was passed out behind the wheel of his pickup.

It was 1 a.m., and Rojas-Villanueva was stopped in the center lane of northbound I-75, near Rochester Road, with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the limit at which someone can be convicted of drunken driving.

Six months earlier, authorities had sent him back to Mexico for driving drunk in Troy on a suspended license and cocaine possession.

This time, they took a different tack with the man who has illegally entered the U.S. five times: They prosecuted him in federal criminal court.

He got 12 months in prison, plus deportation and a felony conviction that dashes any hope of legally rejoining his wife, a U.S. citizen, in Rochester Hills.

He's one of nearly 150 illegal immigrants prosecuted in a federal crackdown in eastern Michigan since January 2010.

The initiative has sparked criticism from those who say it's a waste of money.

But David Koelsch, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School, said immigration laws must be enforced, even though he says they are sometimes unfair and need to be changed.

"You can argue that it's a questionable use of prosecutorial resources, but re-entering the country illegally is a felony, and it's time we started to take deportation seriously," he said.

Authorities have plenty of ways of nabbing illegal immigrants.

Many are arrested during routine traffic stops. Some are tripped up when they try to cross the border.

Cesar Tomas Hernandez, 43, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was turned in by an informant.

Immigration agents confronted him in March while he sat in his 2007 Jeep Liberty outside a Romulus restaurant.

They said Hernandez readily admitted to being in the U.S. illegally after serving prison sentences in New York for drugs and weapons violations, and had a phony New York driver's license, a handgun and a stash of fake cocaine.

Hernandez, who has been deported three times, is jailed on federal charges of illegally re-entering the U.S. and of being a noncitizen in possession of a firearm. The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

He's one of nearly 150 immigrants to be prosecuted in eastern Michigan since early 2010 in a federal crackdown on illegal immigrants who repeatedly re-enter the country.

California and Michigan New Drunk Driving Laws for 2010 | Criminal ...

New changes to the California drunk driving laws are coming in 2010. Effective July 1, 2010, AB91 and SB 598 will require drivers convicted of a DUI to have a California ignition interlock device installed in their vehicles, whether they are first time offenders or repeat offenders, in order to obtain a restricted California driver’s license. The driver is responsible for paying for the device. The average cost to install the device is around $100.00.The program is a pilot program which will be enforced in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Alameda and Tulare counties only. The device measures the driver’s breath to make sure they are alcohol free before they can get behind their vehicle and drive. The driver blows into the mouth piece of the device, and if there is any alcohol detected by the fuel cell that measures the BAC, the vehicle will not start. Restricted licenses are given to drivers in California for limited use to drive to and from work, school and drug or alcohol treatment programs.

The other change in the California drunk driving laws California drunk driving laws also goes into effect July 1, 2010. The DMV must inform a second DUI offender that they are eligible to obtain a restricted license after their 90 day license suspension is completed, and they must inform a third DUI offender that they are eligible to obtain a restricted license after their six month suspension is completed. The driver must enroll in a DUI program and agree to install the California ignition interlock driver device in their vehicle in order to obtain a California restricted license.

Changes in Michigan Ignition Interlock Device Laws

Michigan legislature also has two similar bills which would go into effect January 1, 2011, SB 794 and SB 795. SB 794 is a three year DWI pilot project changing the ignition interlock requirements for offenders convicted of two or more offenses for driving intoxicated or impaired. A sobriety judge would need to certify to the Michigan Secretary of State that the person requesting a restricted license was enrolled in a DWI sobriety court, that an interlock device had been installed in their vehicle and the judge must report annually and inform the Michigan Secretary of State and the Michigan Supreme Court if the offender violates the terms of their program.

Bill SB 795 proposes license restriction changes for persons convicted of multiple DWI offenses and whose licenses have been suspended, restricted, revoked or denied because of two or more intoxicated or impaired driving conditions. Persons with a suspended or revoked license for 45 days must be admitted into to DWI sobriety court, have an ignition interlock device installed and take a driving skills test in order to obtain a restricted license to drive to and from work and home as well as school and to an alcohol or drug education or treatment program.

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