Miami-Dade Approves ID Cards
Posted Sept. 2, 2015 10:15 am | Public News Service
Miami, FL - Starting next year, people in Florida's largest county may be able to get a county ID card, a move supporters say will benefit the community's more vulnerable residents.
The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to endorse the idea and ordered a feasibility study on the cost. For residents, the card would be cheaper than a driver's license or state ID. It wouldn't require proof of citizenship, and the address used can be a shelter, which benefits domestic-violence victims and the homeless.
Francesca Menes, policy and advocacy coordinator for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said a state ID is tough to get for certain segments of the population.
"The amount of documents that it requires in order for
you to get that form of identification is very strict -
to the point that many don't get it, or they can't
afford it," she said. "So, we're working on a form of
identification that's tied to a lot of the different
county services."
Critics dislike the idea of extending benefits to
undocumented people and have called the county ID plans
a waste of government money. A county ID card could be
used to access libraries, open a bank account, get a
credit card, attend city meetings or file a police
report.
For the transgender community, Menes said, the IDs
provide an additional benefit - respect.
"Normally with any government IDs, it's that you have to
identify with the sex that you are born, not the one
that you choose," she said. "So, this allows them to
self-identify, as opposed to based on government's
definition of who they can and can't be."
The small city of Aventura is the only other
municipality in Florida to issue its own identification.
The Miami program likely will be modeled after one
implemented in New York City in January.
Photos/graphics and links added by the Observer
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