Politics

Bill to eliminate community IDs alarms Florida immigrants

Miami, US, Mar 4 (EFE) – The Florida House of Representatives approved Monday a bill that seeks to eliminate the validity of community identity documents, which could deprive undocumented immigrants of access to several services if approved.

Community IDs verify a person’s residency in a given county; while the bill wouldn’t stop nonprofits from issuing them, it would make them less widely accepted.

This type of ID gives undocumented people a form of identification they can use when interacting with law enforcement and local public services.

Republican Blaise Ingoglia is pushing a similar initiative in the state’s Senate, which has already passed trough three state committees and is about to be debated on the floor of the Republican-dominated state legislature.

A similar bill passed in 2023 prohibiting local governments from giving money to organizations that issue these IDs.

However, Ingoglia’s initiative goes further, banning counties and cities from accepting these cards altogether.

“It’s an attack on immigrants, but it not only affects them, but all the other beneficiaries,” Danielle Chanzes, a Dominican resident in northern Florida who has a community ID, told EFE.

These cards are not only used by immigrants, but also by the homeless or formerly homeless, and even senior citizens, for whom it is the only way to get a public transportation pass, a library card, or even register to pick up children from school.

“Everybody cares because it’s a good program. Community IDs help many people,” says Chanzes, who volunteers at a legal clinic organized by the Alachua County Human Rights Coalition.

Government overreach

The Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union called the ban on local governments recognizing these IDs a “gross government overreach.”

“Instead of stifling Floridians’ ability to live their lives, Florida lawmakers should focus on making the state a better place to live,” the organization added.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition stressed that these IDs are recognized by local law enforcement as tools for public safety.

Ingoglia, however, justified his proposal by pointing out that these IDs are a “magnet” for undocumented immigration.

“I think it’s bad that we’re creating magnets for people to come and we’re making it easier for illegal immigrants to assimilate into the country without crossing the border legally,” he said when the bill was discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Thomas Kennedy, spokesman for the FLIC, told EFE that it is “unfortunate” that the senator thinks this way, given that the funds for these programs are private, so the state does not have to pay for them.

The measure responds to a “political game” that is part of “the Trumpist rhetoric that has characterized the state in the last four or five years,” Kennedy added, referring to former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

The House approved the bill by a vote of 81-32. The Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis still have to approve the measure. EFE

lce/mcd/ics

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