Georgia DDS Retains Government Documents from Puerto Rico, Detains Applicants Presenting the Documents and Fails to Issue Them Driver\u2019s Licenses<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2nd, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Atlanta, GA) \u2013 Today, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of named-Plaintiff Kenneth Caban Gonzalez, a US citizen born in Puerto Rico, and similarly situated individuals, who are challenging the Georgia Department of Driver\u2019s Services\u2019 (DDS) unlawful and discriminatory treatment of American citizens from Puerto Rico. The lawsuit was filed because DDS seizes identity documents presented by these American citizens and often fails to decide their applications for driver\u2019s licenses for excessively unreasonable periods of time.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes, as DDS did with Caban, these citizens are detained and arrested.\u00a0\u00a0The lawsuit alleges that Georgia DDS is failing to comply with U.S. constitutional equal protection and due process by treating these American citizens differently than U.S. mainland-born citizens. DDS fails to exchange driver\u2019s license issued in Puerto Rico and fails to give Puerto Rican applicants a chance for a fair hearing. Further, the lawsuit alleges that Georgia DDS requires Puerto Ricans to undergo extra driver testing, and forces Puerto Rican-born applicants to answer questions about Puerto Rico in order to prove that they are Puerto Rican. They are asked to answer trick questions like the name of an inland city\u2019s non-existent beach, the name of a frog indigenous to Puerto Rico or what a meat filled with plantain fritter is called.\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPuerto Ricans who are trying to start a new life in Georgia deserve access to the same benefits that are afforded to other citizens of the United States. We believe that across Georgia there are many Puerto Ricans who face the same kind of intimidation that Kenneth experienced, and we cannot allow for this kind of overt discrimination to take place.\u201d said Jorge Vasquez, Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPuerto Rican Americans are not second-rate citizens and should be treated with the respect afforded every American.\u00a0\u00a0The so-called quiz, applied to Puerto Rican drivers, bears a strikingly disturbing resemblance to the tests applied by segregationists to block voter registration of people of color,\u201d said Gerry Weber, Senior Attorney at SCHR.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been over 600 days since Mr. Caban Gonzalez applied for a Georgia driver\u2019s license, yet DDS has not issued him a license, returned his documents or offered an explanation as to why he is not eligible for the license. Not having a license makes it very hard for Mr. Caban Gonzalez to find employment in his field (which requires a valid driver\u2019s license), and makes taking his infant daughter to doctor\u2019s appointment, attending to his own medical needs, grocery shopping, having a social life, and much more nearly impossible. Also, driving without a valid license is a criminal offense in Georgia, carrying a minimum fine of $500 and a year of imprisonment.\u00a0###LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For more than 40 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout New York and beyond. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit\u00a0www.latinojustice.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) is working for equality, justice, and dignity in our criminal justice system. The mission of SCHR is to end capital punishment, mass incarceration, and other criminal justice practices that are used to control the lives of poor people, people of color, and other marginalized groups in the Southern United States. They do this through death penalty representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Press Release sent on behalf of\u00a0LatinoJustice PRLDEF, who has been in contact with GALEO about these matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n CONTACT:\u00a0Christiaan Perez, LatinoJustice PRLDEF,\u00a0cperez@latinojustice.org<\/a>,\u00a0212-739-7581 About GALEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GALEO\u2019s mission is to increase civic engagement and leadership development of the Latino\/Hispanic community across Georgia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CORE BELIEFS: Inclusive, Non-Partisan, Diversity, Responsive<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hannah Riley, Southern Center for Human Rights,\u00a0hriley@schr.org<\/a>, 470-867-7530<\/p>\n\n\n\n