San Francisco Values: Municipal ID CardsPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Sep. 19‚ 2007San Francisco has been a “sanctuary city” since 1989, which means that the City does not enforce immigration laws – or cooperate with federal authorities. But with more ICE raids hitting immigrant communities, and Republican politicians having found a new Willie Horton, San Francisco must put real teeth in its policy. And with broad support, Supervisor Tom Ammiano has proposed legislation for the City to issue its own ID cards. At a time where immigrants are denied driver’s licenses and other services, this would afford them the dignity of an identification so they can apply for jobs, report a crime, open a bank account, or check out a book at the library. Undocumented immigrants won’t be the only beneficiaries – transgenders and the homeless also struggle with having inadequate papers, and this law would go a long way towards helping them too. |