ImmigrationAnother foreign executive arrested in Alabama on immigration charges

For the second time in recent weeks, Alabama law enforcement officials arresteda foreign car manufacturing executive under the state’s strict new immigration law.

Earlier this month, Ichiro Yada, one of 100 Japanese managers sent to Alabama to oversee Honda’s operations there, was arrested at a police checkpoint set up to catch unlicensed drivers. Yada presented his international driver’s license, a valid passport, as well as a U.S. work permit, but was still ticketed.

According to the new Alabama immigration law, all drivers must carry a valid driver’s license and must be able to present documentation that proves they are in the country legally.

Three days after Yada’s arrest, a judge dismissed the immigration charges against him.

Yada is the second foreign car executive to be arrested under the law. Just weeks prior to Yada’s arrest, a German director of Mercedes-Benz was booked for failing to carry a valid driver’s license.

Alabama is home to several major foreign car manufacturing plants including Hyundai, Mercedes, and Honda. The state is currently the fifth largest auto manufacturer in the United States, but is set to become third thanks to expansion Mercedes and Honda’s plans to expand their operations there.