Under New Law, Cambridge, MA Police Can’t Arrest Illegal Immigrants for Driving Without a License
“We need to protect our community members from a federal government that’s out of control”
The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts just brought the concept of sanctuary city to a whole new level. In an effort to protect illegal immigrants from ICE, the city has passed a new law which directs police not to arrest illegals caught driving without a driver’s license.
They don’t call it the ‘People’s Republic of Cambridge’ for nothing, folks. As a Massachusetts native, let me assure you that pretty much every joke you’ve heard about Cambridge is true.
Drew Karedes reports at FOX 25 News in Boston:
Under new Cambridge law, undocumented immigrants won’t be arrested for driving without a license
It’s the law that you need a license to drive.
But, if you’re undocumented and driving without a license in Cambridge, police have been advised not to arrest you for that.
It’s all part of a new law that passed unanimously in the city, which encourages police to summons unlicensed drivers instead of arresting them. The procedure has already been practiced for a while, but city leaders said they felt compelled to officially make it a law, in fear of what could happen to immigration laws should President Trump be re-elected.
“We need to protect our community members from a federal government that’s out of control,” said Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan. “There are no other reasons for the police to arrest someone, give them a court summons instead which keeps them out of the clutches of the Trump administration.”
Currently, Massachusetts requires drivers to show proof of legal status in order to obtain a driver’s license, a move that many have opposed saying it makes roads more dangerous.
Of course, this raises an obvious question. What happens to an American citizen caught driving without a license in Cambridge? Do they enjoy the same rights?
Emma Colton of the Washington Examiner has more:
Illegal immigrants in Massachusetts city won’t be arrested if they drive without a license
Police had already been advised to follow this protocol for some time, but the council voted unanimously to make it a law, according to the Tuesday report. The law doesn’t restrict police from arresting drivers if they have additional violations besides the lack of a driver’s license. It does, however, keep police from asking if a driver is a legal citizen.
The Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation gave its support for a different bill earlier in February that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain state driver’s licenses…
Cambridge, which is home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became a sanctuary city in 1985, and city officials have become more vocal about sticking to the status since President Trump took office.
“At the end of the day, we have to have a real conversation and understand that these folks seeking asylum are people,” Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern said during a Fox News hit in 2019. “They are not cargo.”
This is insanity, and it has ‘potential lawsuit’ written all over it.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
So criminal illegal INVADERS can drive without a license? What else won’t they get arrested for …. rape, murder, burglary? Just curious.
Obviously “equal protection under the law” is just a joke in Cambridge.
Too late!
They already are given free passes for murder and rape!
FYI
HOBART, Ind. – A northwestern Indiana couple allegedly used a car to force two teenage boys off a road, angered that the twin brothers were riding bicycles adorned with flags supporting President Donald Trump, before ripping one of the sibling’s flag from his bike, police said Friday.
https://www.weaselzippers.us/444182-indiana-couple-drove-boys-with-trump-flags-on-their-bikes-off-the-road-police/
Don’t mix yourself. It’s a joke everywhere.
Kid not mix
Don’t mix yourself was also a good advice, on many levels.
Now that you mention it…
They probably don’t have insurance either – and what about the places where they are issuing illegals licenses? Who is insuring them? Or is this more Illegal Alien Privilege – Catch and Release for them, including DUI, life ruined for me if I do the same thing.
Why, they probably don’t even own the vehicle!
Oh, you’ll sometimes find unlicensed illegals driving insured vehicles that they borrow from someone else. Not that it matters. In case of an accident, they either run from the scene or feign injury.
So if they drive drunk, they can’t lose their license if they don’t have one.
Cambridge, the home of Elizabeth Warren, is full of moonbat fools.
Yes, the home of big horse faced lesbians…..according to some loud mouth this week……
Can someone explain to me why this does not violate the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment if Cambridge Police can arrest citizens for the same crime?
Unequal application of the law is TYRANNY!
John Lennon did not anticipate the current situation: We should talk about a revolution.
The same way the equal protection clause is ignored when justice is different for different income classes, or political affiliation. Or, see the response when a LEO is killed vs one of the peasantry.
Actually, the largest difference in treatment of offenders shows when federal employees are killed.
Remember, law was enacted that put murderers of fed. officials on the fast track. The rest of us, if we have a family member murdered, the murderer outlives us on death row.
Blessed are the civil servants, for they have inherited the earth.
That confuses me too, D. I’ve argued with a lib before about whether the constitution applies to non-citizens. The Preamble clearly states … “we the people … for ourselves … and our posterity …” do establish this constitution. It’s a statement of scope and applicability. Yet the Libs I’ve pointed that out to, typically deny the Preamble has any authority / applicability. They view it like a non-binding introductory statement.
And in so doing, they effectively argue that the constitution applies to illegals. Yet you rightly point out that they’re effectively nullifying the 14th amendment for illegals in saying the law and thereby enforcement doesn’t apply to them.
Libs are trying to have it both ways. As usual.
The State-established religion (“ethics”) is Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic, and politically congruent.
Where did you get the idea that they can arrest citizens for this? The new law says they shouldn’t arrest anybody for unlicensed driving, and that they can’t even ask about the person’s status, so they can’t even know whether someone’s a citizen.
I haven’t read the law, but how would this work? “License and registration, please.” Um, no, sorry, Officer, no can do. “Alrighty, then. Have a good night.”
There must be some reason the driver was pulled over, and maybe the car is registered …. But to get a registration in Mass, you need insurance, and guess what you need to get insurance … though I think there’s a way to get car insurance without a license, but I am not sure. Can you imagine what it would cost, though, if you even can?
This just seems to unnecessarily open a whole can of worms. Either drivers need licenses to drive or they don’t. You can’t have it both ways.
No, “Here’s a summons. Show up in court on that date, or we will come looking for you.” That is what the article explicitly says will happen. How can people read it and not see that?
Without a valid name and residential address provided by the license, where would the police begin to look?
Another response to the question of “Licence Please” is a hesitant silence with quizzical look and a reply;
“como se dice qe no hablo ingles”,
a hesitant wait and repeated as often as necessary. One should practice well to give it just the right amount of natural/native annunciation! Not only obvious to the question of having a license, it should fill the void of any question asked and work for any stopped driver in city of Cambridge.
It should work for pretty much anyone unless the police are profiling you, then that’s another story.
@Milhouse
“Here’s a summons. Show up in court on that date, or we will come looking for you.”
Yes that will work very well for someone unable to provide identification and free to give a false name. I’m sure they will set up a dragnet — just like they do for the 20 million illegals already here. Brilliant.
Irrelevant. The point is that there is not even the slightest hint that illegal immigrants will be treated differently from legal ones or citizens. Everyone will get a summons.
While custodial arrests should be disfavored for the offense of driving without a license, most jurisdictions require verifiable proof of identity and address before issuing a summons.
dystopia: While custodial arrests should be disfavored for the offense of driving without a license, most jurisdictions require verifiable proof of identity and address before issuing a summons.
That will still apply. To issue a summons, the person has to provide evidence of their identity and residence, though it doesn’t have to be a driver’s license.
What this BS does is makes citizens break the law in order to gain the same benefits as illegals. You know the illegals aren’t going to show up for the summons. Why shouldn’t citizens do the same, use fake ID and escape the summons and any ticket that might be issued?
kat100: Why shouldn’t citizens do the same, use fake ID and escape the summons and any ticket that might be issued?
Because it entails criminal penalties.
You know what you can do with your beloved illegals, Moonbat.
What drugs are you on? I don’t have any illegals; do you? And where the hell do you get off calling me a moonbat? There’s not a leftist bone in my body, unlike you.
So Mike I guess this means we should all claim to be illegal aliens and……
Just say, “no hanky Ingles!” Then show them a matricula consular card, obtainable in any barrio. MC cards are very powerful. They, alone, or good to open a bank account at any Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Regions bank, or Chase.
Habla not hankie. At least the down-tick is my own.
Fine, don’t arrest them. Instead, helpfully escort them to the border.
Which border? The one with Watertown, Belmont, Arlington, Somerville or Boston?
I bet though if I were there and got stopped, they would demand to see my license. It can’t be obey the laws for citizens but yet criminals fo what they want. All the DNC bleeps in office need to be voted out.
AND Arrested Too is my suspicion……
Citizens and legal resident aliens are a revenue source. Illegal aliens generally have nothing. If you’re a revenuer with a quota, who do you jack up?
That is actually 100% fact.
For decades where I live you rarely saw police pulling people over unless it was the end of the month when they had to fill their “quota” of tickets/fine revenue.
Now the city has a huge budget short-fall, and there are probably the entire police force doing nothing but writing tickets all day long, all month long.
In fact, in the past two months I’ve seen more police on the streets than in the past 20 years total.
Oh, please! The police are your friends! They have only pulled you over for your own good, and for Public Safety.
And, if you believe that I have oceanfront property available for sale in Kansas. Drop me a line.
It isn’t just the fines that are a problem. Some years ago a couple of small towns in E. Texas decided on a much more lucrative method – confiscation of the car and all of its contents for even minor speeding violations. IIRC, the state finally got around to making that illegal.
You’re fooling yourself.
Talk to GOP elected officials, state and federal.
They love them illegals themselves!
Of course they will demand to see your license, just as they demand to see everyone’s license. And if you do not produce it you will get a summons, just like everyone. You will not be arrested, just like everyone. Where are you people getting all these other ideas, that the article you’re discussing directly contradicts?
I would like to say I’m surprised, but this is nearly beyond belief. Will there be a list of laws that us deplorables can violate without punishment? Didn’t think so.
Who said anything about “without punishment”? Where are you getting that from?
Under the 14th amendment, doesn’t that mean that they can’t arrest anybody for driving without a license?
They are far rougher on those who split infinitives.
/ducking
How do cops know NOT to cite illegal aliens if they can’t ask if they are?
PROFILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol
The sombreros give them away.
Who said anything about not citing them? That is NOT what the article says. It says they will be cited, just like you would be. They will not be arrested, and nor will you be.
Knowing the limits of your intelligence requires a certain level of intelligence, so some people are too stupid to know how stupid they are.
Touche!
This would also explain so many talking heads on TV, that call themselves news anchors.
The unintended consequences are 110% predictable for anyone who doesn’t have ideological blinders on.
Read it and weep… if you are interested..
https://www.scribd.com/document/447049225/Cambridge-s-Welcoming-Community-Ordinance#from_embed
2.129.70 – COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW
Nothing in the ordinance shall be construed to violate any valid federal law or to prohibit any Cambridge agency of department from providing another law enforcement agency citizenship or information status, consistent with 8 U.S.C. &1373
Oh,, that makes is all legal, ‘n stuff.
The very word “welcoming” makes me gag.
If they dont need a licence to drive then surely you dont need a licence to carry??
Interesting question. Would the Cambridge cops have a problem with the MS-13 gangster not having a permit for his pistola?
Until some college kid out walking a dog gets run over, let’s see what happens then.
They all depends on who the kid’s parents are.
Now, if a Kennedy or Kerry suffers the loss of a loved one, you’ll see some changes.
Sorry! We have hundreds, if not thousands of people, killed by illegal alien drivers.
I have seen MYSELF a letter from our State Dept. to a parent of a child killed by a drunk driving illegal alien that RAN to MEXICO, that Mexico will NOT extradite the drunk driver because they ONLY extradite if the criminal act is ALSO a criminal act in Mexico.
Evidently, driving drunk and plowing into a car stopped at a light, killing one, and putting two into a coma, and one of those two into a wheelchair permanently, isn’t a crime in Mexico. They won’t extradite the S.O.B.
Wrong dept. DOJ, not State Dept.
https://www.thedustininmansociety.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Scan.pdf
Read it and WEEP. Or become Furious. FURY works much better.
A few years ago my car was rear ended in downtown Atlanta. The guy who hit me did not have a valid driver’s license, did not have proof of insurance, did not have a valid vehicle registration, turned out the address he gave was phony, and he admitted he was not a US citizen but did not have his green card on him.
The police did not give him a single ticket. None, nada, nothing.
I ended up having to pay the deductible to have my car repaired, and he walked away free as a bird.
And, you’re still a racist. /s
You’re being sarcastic, but when I told a lefty that story as my reason for opposing sanctuary cities, I was indeed called racist.
Sanctuary Cities where the illegals are “herded” together in close confines of the “city limits” are such RACIST CITIES!
Of course you were. I’m at the point where when some sniveled falls be a racist, my reply is, “and…?”
Oh!
Sounds like a United Nations employee or diplomat.
Snark.
“At the end of the day, we have to have a real conversation and understand that these folks seeking asylum are people,” Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern said during a Fox News hit in 2019. “They are not cargo.”
________________
They are not cargo. They are economic opportunists, and law-breakers. They are also not “seeking asylum.” The vast majority of illegal aliens are not refugees and do not qualify for asylum under U.S. law.
So why are lawmakers in the U.S. creating special rights and privileges for foreigners breaking U.S. laws in order to take economic advantage of American taxpayers?
And more importantly, why are U.S. citizens tolerating this insanity?
I recently read an article attributing 37 % of geniuses or highly functioning thinkers in any of their chosen fields, actually being ‘just dumb’ or ‘jerks’ and that they have not concept of how to apply logical thought processes that we “uneducated” make everyday. Being this is taking place in Cambridge, Mass. makes the case of the study that much more valid.
https://toputitbluntly.com/2015/02/17/genius-and-dumbness/#more-364
So what happens if you just claim to be illegal when you’re stopped? Are they going to run a check to make sure you are actually Illegal and not illegally pretending to be illegal foreperson al benefit?
That’s a good idea! You’ll need to practice faking a mexican accent, though.
The very first sentence illegals learn is “no insurance!” They pronounce it, “noh-chooranz!”
“Innocent by reason of trespass.”
walls: So criminal illegal INVADERS can drive without a license? What else won’t they get arrested for …. rape, murder, burglary? Just curious.
Under the ordinance, a person driving without a license won’t be arrested for driving without a license, but can still be arrested for other criminal activity. In any case, they will be issued a summons.
MAJack: So if they drive drunk, they can’t lose their license if they don’t have one.
No, but they can be arrested for drunk driving.
dystopia: Can someone explain to me why this does not violate the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment if Cambridge Police can arrest citizens for the same crime?
The Friendly Grizzly: The same way the equal protection clause is ignored when justice is different for different income classes, or political affiliation.
It’s been standard police policy for some time to not arrest people for driving without a license. Under the ordinance, police cannot generally determine immigration status during a stop; consequently, they cannot discriminate on that basis. In any case, the ordinance states:
“EQUAL TREATMENT. Cambridge will treat all persons equally, enforce laws, and serve the public without consideration of immigration status. Citizenship, immigration status, national origin, race, and ethnicity shall have no bearing on an individual’s treatment by employees or officers of Cambridge agencies or departments.
“Inquiries about immigration status. Officers and employees of the city may not inquire about the immigration status of any victim, suspect, arrestee, 911 caller, or other member of the public with whom they have contact, except as required to provide a public benefit.”
notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital: Unequal application of the law is TYRANNY!
And the confusion of truth and falsehood leads to chaos, which leads to … tyranny.
MrE: I’ve argued with a lib before about whether the constitution applies to non-citizens.
Some parts of the U.S. Constitution apply to citizens, and some to persons generally.
“Currently, Massachusetts requires drivers to show proof of legal status in order to obtain a driver’s license, a move that many have opposed saying it makes roads more dangerous.”
Um. Wut?
Don’t you know everything’s better if we let them “come in from the shadows”?
I would like to see the MA police fight back a little on this by having the car towed of anybody they find driving without a licence. Goodbye, into the tow lot, no sir you may not reclaim your car because you do not have a valid form of identification, good day.
georgfelis: I would like to see the MA police fight back a little on this by having the car towed of anybody they find driving without a licence.
Cambridge Welcome Community Ordinance: In such circumstances, the law enforcement officer taking action shall endeavor to provide the driver a reasonable opportunity to arrange for a properly licensed operator to drive the vehicle before seeking to impound the vehicle.
The purpose of impounding is not supposed to be punitive. Punishment requires due process. Avoiding impound has been standard policy for some time, and applies to anyone regardless of immigration status.
Police obey orders.
We need a new law that deletes any personal protection from lawsuits against lawmakers who pass these laws in the event someone is hurt or killed by an illegal alien driver with no license who has been pulled over previously by police and not arrested.
Want to pass laws like this dipsquids? Then you are personally on the hook to defend yourself in any lawsuit and you’re liable if you lose.
Of course they do. What in the article makes you think otherwise? “It’s all part of a new law that passed unanimously in the city, which encourages police to summons unlicensed drivers instead of arresting them.” It doesn’t say anything about whether the driver is a US citizen, a legal resident, or an illegal resident, and it does say the police can’t ask about that, so where are people getting the idea that a citizen or legal resident would be arrested?
How many innocent people will die in Cambridge now?
That’s easy to answer: exactly zero, since they haven’t been arresting people for unlicensed driving until now. This just makes it a law instead of just a policy. Unlicensed drivers will continue to be issued a summons, just as they always have been.
“It’s all part of a new law that passed unanimously in the city, which encourages police to summons unlicensed drivers instead of arresting them.”
So at least citizens will have the same benefit. How great!