Solution to Civil Forfeiture Problem

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Solution to Civil Forfeiture Problem

In the United States, civil forfeiture refers to the legal process through which the state acquires assets from an individual or company implicated in crime without necessarily charging them with any offence. There has been massive controversy over the legality and effectiveness of the policy especially in deterring criminal activity. Most of the officials in the law enforcement and judicial departments have repeatedly abused this provision to profit the government or individual interests (Cáceres, and Jameson 21). One of the proposed solutions to the abuse of the civil forfeiture rule is to reaffirm the presumption of innocence. In the current situation, property owners are forced to protect their assets. Instead, the public prosecutor should be able to reveal that owners were aware their property was being assisting in the commission of a crime (Brotherton, Stageman, and Leyro 13). The idea of passing the AB 60 is very useful in that it gave the Hispanic community a greater sense of security as well as belonging. The bill was designed to allow unauthorized immigrants to posses and use driving licenses.

Feasibility

            The feasibility of the AB 60 policy proposal success is very high. However, there are several setbacks towards implementing this policy. One of the setbacks is the numerous qualifications set by the DMV that eliminated most of the Immigrant people without licenses (Shusterman 12). It is impossible to set such a high threshold for registration and expect success in the government initiative (Gordon 16). A significant obstacle to the bill is suspicious image from the immigrant’s perspective after dealing with government entities (Waslin 11). The immigrants in the above situation are currently residing in the United States. Therefore, they are covered by American principles concerning human right. This implies that they have the right to be awarded privileges in the same way as ordinary American citizens (Marshall 43).

Failed solution

The proposed solution to the obstacles mentioned in the previous section involved engaging in a nationwide sensitization program that would inform the immigrant community about the proposed changes. This program would involve using all available forms of media including TV, print and social media to change the immigrant perspectives abut acquiring a driving license. However, this initiative has largely been ineffective in changing the perceptions of immigrants towards the government and the AB 60 policy. Most of the beneficiaries of this program are still afraid of the consequences of registering themselves with the state. This fear originates from the potential of the state to use the demographic information to deport or oppress immigrants (Gordon 23). Rosemarie Perez Foster proposed in her studies that approximately 20% of all immigrants go through trauma while traveling across the borders and 14% reported trauma after the migration (JD 7). These results verify that most of the immigrants are ill prepared to maximize on the chance offered by AB 60. They will need psychological therapy as well as civil teaching to ensure that they understand their benefits.

Works Cited

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Brotherton, David, Daniel L. Stageman, and Shirley P. Leyro. Outside Justice: Immigration and the Criminalizing Impact of Changing Policy and Practice. New York, NY: Springer, 2013. Print.

Cáceres, Mauricio, and Kenneth P. Jameson. “The Effects on Insurance Costs of Restricting Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Driver Licenses.” Southern Economic Journal. 81.4 (2015): 907-927. Print.

Driver’s Licenses and Illegal Immigration: Issues of Controversy. eScholar@Salve Regina, 2005. Print.

Gordon, Diana R. Village of Immigrants: Latinos in an Emerging America. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2015. Print.

JD, Supra. “Illinois and Michigan Provide Driving Privileges for Illegal Immigrants.” JD Supra. (2013): 2013-2. Print.

Marshall, Catherine.  Top of Form

Shusterman, Carl. “Driver’s Licenses for the Undocumented in California.” Carl Shusterman’s Immigration Update. (2013): 2013-9. Print.

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Volk, Kyle G. Moral Minorities, and the Making of American Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.

Waslin, Michele L. “Driving While Immigrant: Driver’s License Policy and Immigration Enforcement.” 2013. Print.

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