Email
An Albuquerque man has pleaded guilty to federal charges as part of an investigation into a criminal ring that transported at least 100 illegal immigrants from the Southeastern United States to New Mexico to fraudulently obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Ivon Baray-Luna, 31, pleaded guilty in Charleston, S.C., last Friday to one count each of conspiracy, transferring false identification documents and transporting illegal aliens, according to a news release from the agency. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. No sentencing date has been set.
Also arrested in the case last summer were Alma Rosa Ortiz-Calzada, the purported ringleader, from South Carolina; and four other Albuquerque residents – Alfred Padilla, 47; Victor Alvarez, 25; Elizabeth Lopez, 42; and Alfredo Saenz, 39.
Ortiz-Calzada also pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, transferring false identification documents and transporting illegal aliens, according to the news release. She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set for her.
The cases against the others are still pending.
Federal investigators have said 30 people from five states were part of the ring using false documents to fraudulently obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses.
More than 150 licenses were identified as illegally obtained.
New Mexico and Washington state are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s license as a U.S. citizen, but proof of a local address is required.
For the third year, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is trying to repeal the law that allows driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. However, she recently said she would consider a compromise if she is unable to get the law repealed.
According to an indictment in the case, the New Mexico residents would help people in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia get the licenses.
“It was part of the conspiracy that individuals who were in the country illegally … and not residents of New Mexico, would obtain driver’s licenses from New Mexico using false documents and through false representations,” the indictment said.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
