Alabama’s desire to keep out illegal immigrants may be running counter to its desire to attract international automakers.
Under the state’s new immigration policy, which requires anyone stopped by police to show proper identification, a German executive with Mercedes Benz was arrested this weekend.
It played out like a scene sounds like it could come from a World War II Gestapo movie: 46-year-old Detlev Hager was driving down the road in a rental car, when a police officer noticed something amiss with the car – initial reports say it was missing registration tags, but Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson insists the car was missing license plates. The officer pulled Hager over, and asked for his papers.
All Hager could produce was his German identification. His passport, which shows he was legally in the country on a visa, was back at his hotel room.
Hager was arrested and charged under the immigration law for not having the proper paperwork. He was released on his own recognizance after a colleague went back to his hotel room and retrieved his paperwork. He has a court date set in the next few weeks to determine his ultimate punishment.
The arrest has caught national attention to Alabama’s law, which could be interpreted to require paperwork to prove immigration status for things like getting flu shots.
“I’m not surprised at the amount of attention this has drawn,” Anderson said. “I expected it would take something like this to get attention.”
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