Until recently, Richmond, Ca., leaders, including Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, were considering a program to provide illegal immigrants with municipal identification cards. But the Contra Costa County Municipal ID Task Force decided to shelve the proposal, after San Francisco backed down from its plan amid controversy.
San Francisco has lately been under fire for its lax attitude toward undocumented immigrants. After Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a plan last month, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (a branch of the Federation for American Immigration Reform) filed suit against the city to block it. IRLI’s Kris Kobach is also suing the city for its “sanctuary” policy.
IRLI has also sued New Haven, Conn., where 6,000 people have been issued municipal ID cards since 2007, without being asked about their immigration status. In 2007, the IDs were a hot concept around the country, but since the controversy over issuing drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants hit the presidential election in November, the idea has mostly fizzled.
Still, proponents say that municipal IDs could serve as proof of identification if an illegal immigrant were hospitalized, arrested, or involved in a traffic accident. The IDs would also be used to open bank accounts, use public facilities, or check out library books.
(Photo by Flickr user size8jeans)
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