Mercedes manager arrested under immigrant ID law

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A German manager with Mercedes-Benz is free after being arrested for not having a driver’s license with him under Alabama’s new law targeting illegal immigrants, authorities said Friday.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson said an officer stopped a rental vehicle for not having a tag Wednesday night and asked the driver for his license. The man only had a German identification card, so he was arrested and taken to police headquarters, Anderson said.

The 46-year-old executive was charged with violating the immigration law for not having proper identification, but he was released after an associate retrieved his passport, visa and German driver’s license from the hotel where he was staying.

Mercedes-Benz builds sport-utility vehicles at a large plant about 20 miles east of Tuscaloosa.