ACLU of Maryland (ACLU-MD)

Letter from ACLU, CASA, and AILA
Cancellation letter from MVA

***MEDIA RELEASE ***
ACLU, CASA, and AILA Send Demand Letter to MVA About
Driver's License Cancellations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

CONTACT: Ajmel Quereshi, ACLU of Maryland, 410-889-8555; media@aclu-md.org

BALTIMORE, MD - The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, CASA de Maryland, and the DC Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) have learned that the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) on about June 1, 2009 mailed an unknown number of driver's license cancellation notices, cancelling immediately Maryland driver's licenses because MVA concluded these licenses may have been obtained fraudulently. The MVA provided no notice to license holders prior to cancellation; no information regarding the evidence of fraud used to conclude the licenses were fraudulently obtained; and no opportunity to rebut the fraud conclusion prior to cancellation of the licenses.

Between the ACLU of Maryland, CASA de Maryland and the DC Chapter of AILA, we have received over a hundred calls from holders of now cancelled licenses.

The perfunctory cancellation of licenses with no notice or opportunity to prevent the cancellation is a clear violation of due process with a potentially devastating impact on those who depend upon a valid license for their livelihoods. This is not to mention that drivers who can not prove lawful presence will not be able to reapply thus leaving them without any redress for a potentially erroneous finding.

ACLU of Maryland, CASA de Maryland, and the DC Chapter of AILA have sent a letter to the MVA expressing these concerns and asking the MVA to 1) restore licenses that were cancelled; 2) provide notice to holders of licenses the MVA reasonably suspects were fraudulently obtained with information about the basis for that suspicion; and 3) provide a meaningful opportunity for these license holders to contest the allegation of fraud and prevent cancellation of their licenses PRIOR to cancellation of the license.

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