Charge axed for immigrant who used fake form to get real ID

MIAMI (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed charges against an immigrant who used a fake document to get a real Florida driver’s license.

The Miami Herald reports 38-year-old Rubman Ardon Chinchilla and more than 20 people were arrested as part of a counterfeit ring that used forged immigration documents in license applications.

Defense lawyers say the immigrants were conned by a Cuban-American man who posed as an immigration official and charged them $2,000 each for a falsified document. The form temporarily delays deportations and requires immigrants who are in the country illegally to report to the government regularly.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said no law allowed the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to accept the document as proof of an “authorized stay” in the first place. Prosecutors will appeal.

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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com