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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Richmond (Kentucky) to offer ID cards to immigrants: COULD BE FIRST U.S. CITY TO DO SO The city of Richmond next week will begin offering identification cards to immigrants, regardless of whether they entered the country legally or not. The move could make the Madison County seat the first city in the country to issue such immigrant IDs -- and draw Richmond into the large and sometimes fierce national debate over immigration reform. The cards will be offered as part of a first-ever Latino citizen's police academy at a local church, officials said. Although some states give identification cards to immigrants regardless of whether they entered the United States legally, immigration experts say they are not aware of any other city or municipality in the nation that has gone as far as issuing its own immigrant IDs. Also next week, a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government task force studying Hispanic issues is expected to hear a presentation on a proposed local identification card, though some city officials expressed doubts about whether there is enough evidence to support such a program. Critics call Richmond's move troubling and liken it to "aiding and abetting" illegal immigration. "We're not going to get a handle on this crisis we have with an all-time high illegal alien population if municipalities are going to undermine the enforcement of immigration laws," said John Keeley, a spokesman with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. In Richmond, City Manager David Evans said the cards will be used for identification purposes only and should help immigrants more easily perform tasks most citizens take for granted, such as cashing a check or properly identifying themselves to authorities. "I think it would be more of a help than anything else," he said. "I think it will be an asset for everybody." People interested in a card will be required to present two forms of identification such as a birth certificate or picture ID from their native country along with proof of residence in Richmond or Madison County, such as a lease or utility bills with their home address. A $10 fee will be charged. The cards will not adjust a person's immigration status or help them obtain a driver's license, Evans said. The decision to issue the cards was not voted on by the Richmond City Council, Evans said. The city already owns a picture ID machine, so it is not an ordeal to make the cards. "It's just something we can do as a public service. It's a service we can offer," he said. The main force behind persuading Richmond officials to offer the cards is Sandra Anez Powell, migrant outreach coordinator with the Kentucky River Foothills Development Council in Richmond. Figures from the 2000 Census indicate 328 Hispanics live in Madison County; the real number is probably much higher. The need for the cards became clear to her after the bodies of three men were found in the Kentucky River wrapped in tarps in April 2003. Authorities later determined the men were from Texas and had been executed in Lexington as part of a drug deal gone bad. For nearly two weeks, people speculated on whether the victims were local residents or migrant workers. Fear ran through Madison County's immigrant community, she said. "We need something that could help tell us if these are our guys or not," Anez Powell said. The cards could also help identify the dead if there were a catastrophe or natural disaster. Although the cards will not help change a person's immigration status, she said, they will acknowledge that the person is living and working in the community. "Because they are undocumented, it doesn't mean they don't exist," she said. That may be the case, but a local government should not do anything to help illegal immigrants, said Craig Nelsen, of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement in Washington, D.C. "They're helping illegal aliens remain here," he said. The real problem, Nelsen said, is not in Richmond. It's the ongoing lack of will to enforce laws at the federal level. "You can't even blame the cities. They don't know what to do," he said. In Lexington, a mayor's task force on the Hispanic workforce will hear a presentation Wednesday from the Lexington Hispanic Association on local ID cards. Anez Powell is an association member as well. Lack of documentation "is a huge issue. It's the main problem the Hispanics here have," said association member Freddy Peralta. He is also on the mayor's task force. Alayne White, Urban County Government's social services commissioner and task force co-chair, said she is curious about the proposal and understands the need for a person to have proper identification. But she recognizes the controversy in implementing such a program. Unless a precedent has been set in other cities and the Hispanic Association can demonstrate the benefits, the cards could be "an incredibly hard sell," she said. Some states have issued ID cards and hundreds of cities have begun to accept the matricula consular ID card issued by the Mexican government. Earlier this month, the mayor of New Haven, Conn., said he wanted to give immigrants a form of ID so they could access social services, open bank accounts or prove their identity. But after radio talk shows and editorial writers pounced on the issue, Mayor John DeStefano Jr., also a Democratic candidate for governor, told the New York Times that his office was trying to determine "whether we could legally do it." Advocacy groups worry about whether municipal governments could be compelled to share information they gather with the federal government. Information in Richmond will be kept in-house, Anez Powell said. The cards could also have the unintended effect of singling out immigrants for abuse and discrimination, said Michele Waslin, director of immigration policy research at the National Council of La Raza. That organization is not taking a position on the issue, she said. "It's good that people can identify themselves, but it's not a complete solution," she said. Reach Steve Lannen in the Herald-Leader's Georgetown bureau, (502) 867-1354 or e-mail slannen@herald-leader.com. Poster Comment: Here is Mr. Evans phone number and email address: CityManager@richmond.ky.us Phone: (859) 623 - 1000 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 6.
#6. To: justlurking, Fred Mertz (#0)
Kentucky ping!
#14. To: Zipporah (#6)
You would never know that this is a *red* state.
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