Get this: THe illegal alien “would not allow” a New York Times reporter to use his name…<\/p>\n
New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n Sobriety Checkpoints Catch Unlicensed Drivers <\/strong><\/p>\n Bernardino\u2019s wife began to sob as soon as she saw the signs warning \u201csobriety checkpoint ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey cannot do anything to us,\u201d said Bernardino, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, as he pulled their 1997 Ford Explorer into a police checkpoint in San Pablo<\/p>\n His wife knew better. They were sober, but Bernardino, who would not allow his last name to be used because of his illegal status, had no driver\u2019s license, an offense that would cost them their car.<\/p>\n Sobriety checkpoints, like the one in San Pablo, have increasingly become profitable operations that are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed \u2014 and often illegal immigrant \u2014 motorists, than to catch drunken drivers. <\/p>\n An examination by the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that in 2009, impoundments at checkpoints generated an estimated $40 million in towing fees and police fines statewide. Cities like Oakland, San Jose, San Rafael, Hayward and Redwood City divide the revenue with towing companies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n