Backers tout community ID card program

But Gallo said this week that he has not OK’d the program. Gallo described the December meeting as “informal” and denied making any verbal commitment to support the initiative. Gallo said that he would need to see a formal proposal, and discuss the plan with Police Chief Egidio Tinti. The plan, Gallo said, would also need to be vetted by the city Corporation Counsel’s Office.

Until the chief of police and corporation counsel weigh in,” said Gallo. “I can’t make a substantive decision.”

Chief Tinti said that he had not been briefed on the final plan for the cards. But Tinti expressed support for the program, saying that police often encountered reluctance on the part of undocumented immigrants to report crimes or come forward as witnesses out of fear that they could run afoul of immigration laws. (Like the vast majority of local police agencies, the KPD does not inquire about immigration status unless the person in question has been charged with a crime.) Tinti stressed that the ID cards would do nothing to change arrest and booking procedures. Cops would still be free to use their own discretion regarding the document’s trustworthiness on a case-by-case basis.

“From what I understand, this is an opportunity for us to close a gap that exists in the community,” said Tinti. “But nobody is more hesitant in identity issues than police officers because, believe it or not, sometimes people lie to us.”

To ensure the veracity of information on the new ID cards, the Worker Justice Center will require documentation of both identity and address. Applicants can use Social Security cards, foreign drivers’ licenses, birth certificates and other documents for identification purposes. Mortgage statements, lease agreements or utility bills are among the documents which will be accepted to establish addresses. The cards will also have a section for information on medical conditions or allergies, information that, Bhatt said, could be used by emergency services workers when dealing with a patient with limited English skills.

Not just undocumented

While the community ID concept has gained favor in places like New Haven,Conn. and San Francisco, a similar proposal fell flat inNew York City after a backlash over the perception that the program would provide a benefit to illegal immigrants. But, Juega said, the Mercer County program had been used by a number of groups, not just the undocumented. Youth, the elderly, low-income families, returning ex-convicts and others who might lack the money or the documents to obtain government identification had all availed themselves of the program, she said.

“At first there was some controversy, we got letters, we read some horrible stuff on the blogs and the comment sections,” said Juega. “But that all died down after we were able to implement the program without any negative incidents.”

Bhatt said that fears that the community ID would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain services that they were not entitled to were unfounded. The card, he stressed, does not confer any additional legal rights. Bhatt noted that the program had received a number of endorsements from social service groups, including Family of Woodstock, which issues its own unofficial community ID cards. Bhatt said that the main goal of the program was one that all city residents would support, public safety.

“Those who prey on any one segment of the population are likely to prey on others,” said Bhatt. “What possible sense could it make to obviate law enforcement from aggressively going after the perpetrators of these crimes?”