TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- 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, in an otherwise routine case that drew the attention of Gov. Robert Bentley.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson told The Associated Press 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, Anderson said.

Some al.com commenters saw this as a black eye for the state, possibly hurting recruitment of new industry. Others said the man should have known the rules, and the police were right in arresting him.

Among the comments:

* "I'm sure he had a license...just not one issued in the U.S. 'Proper ID'.

"This will be quietly swept under the rug and a large gratuity will be offered with the apology note from Bobby.

"It's OK to stick you foot in your own mouth but is bad form to do it to a foreign official with one of the states biggest employers!" -- WillGill

* "Yeah, NOOOOOBODY saw this one coming... Nobody... *rolls eyes*

"(Not all the for-ners are illegal, and some of them are some big time ACTUAL job creators-- not the fictional kind that are just rich and create no actual jobs.) I'll bet Detroit is gearing up a recruitment campaign right about now." -- supayoda

* "This is absolutely no different from what would happen in any civilized nation in the world under the same circumstances. I have traveled on business in several countries and what this gentleman did was an absolute violation of common sense and was probably a violation of his company's policy. He deserved exactly what he got." -- eggfoot

* "Difference being... This is the United States of America, and we claim to be more free than those other countries. I'm guessing we got sick of freedom at some point?" -- supayoda

* "The other day, a State legislator told me that the law 'has unintended consequences.' Then, I read that they rushed the law through at the last minute with a number of other bills and the legislators 'didn't fully understand what they voted for'

"So a law with 'unintended consequences' that was 'rushed through at the last minute' now endangers our relationship with one of the State's largest industries (i.e., Mercedes), and (according to the chairman of the State retirement fund) may discourage another foreign government from making a $100 million investment in another factory here. Too bad we can't just banish the folks who blindly voted for the bill without thinking about what they were doing. Who was it that said something like 'We are only safe when the legislature is not in session'? Seems like it was maybe Mark Twain or Will Rogers....." -- caresaboutTCS

Editor's note: Headline typo corrected at 1:29 p.m.

