Associated Press (Ohio)
By Lisa Cornwell
May 12, 2016
Cincinnati's city council on Wednesday authorized a photo ID card for immigrants, the homeless and others that police and municipal agencies will accept as a valid method of identification.
The council's resolution and an accompanying executive order allow acceptance of cards that members of a coalition advocating for them say will be the first of their type in an Ohio city. Similar cards have been created in other cities around the country, including New York and Greensboro, North Carolina. The cards won't replace driver's licenses, but will give residents another acceptable proof of identity.
The council in Cincinnati voted 5-1 to approve the resolution, with three members abstaining, WCPO-TV reported.
Officials with the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati and the city say the cards will help some of the most vulnerable members of the population and the city as a whole.
Mayor John Cranley said the city's Immigration Task Force found that legal immigrants, non-driving older residents, and others who lack the ability to get a driver's license often are reluctant to report crimes, even when they are the victims. He said the police acceptance of the cards will hopefully help victims feel more comfortable to report crimes.
"This will make our city safer," Cranley said in a statement.
The executive director of the coalition that will issue the cards says they will help in many ways.
"It will help those who are the most vulnerable feel more a part of the community," said Margaret Fox. "It's a general ID card that anyone can apply for, but the beauty of it is that it provides photo identification with a residential address for those who don't have other IDs."
Fox said the card will cost $15 dollars, but financial assistance will be available.
Applicants will have to show two forms of identification to receive a card. Those can include birth certificates, consular IDs, passports and letters from social service organizations, Fox said.
A coalition of labor unions, faith-based and social service organizations and other groups in Columbus is working to get a similar card there. The coalition, One ID Columbus, has been talking with city and county officials about the need for such a card, said Ruben Castilla Herrera, an organizer with the Central Ohio Worker Center that's part of the coalition.
"This would be a legitimate and useful identification document that could make this a real opportunity city for everyone," he said.
Castilla Herrera said the coalition hasn't launched its public campaign yet, but hopes to have a formal proposal to government officials possibly as early as the end of this year.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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