A group from the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa spoke yesterday at Faith UCC in Iowa City to educate us and seek support for a proposed community identification card program.
A community ID is essentially what it sound like. It is a picture ID card issued by the local or county government that would be available for all residents and that would be recognized by local police departments, public agencies, and businesses. This would be available to anyone: immigrants, citizens, senior citizens who cannot drive any longer, etc.
They are pushing for community IDs because there is a large number of local residents who do not have photo IDs at this time -- at least, they do not have photo IDs that are recognized by government or commercial agencies. As a result, they are more likely to have interactions with the police escalate due to an inability to prove who they are. They are less likely to be able to open bank accounts due to not having a recognizable form of picture ID. They are less likely to be able to find benefit from support services following a natural disaster without a form of recognizable picture ID. In general, it is more difficult for them as access basic services without an ID.
The community ID cards would not be recognized by outside municipalities. This would be strictly a local ID card. It could not be used for proof of ID when it came to registering to vote or for boarding an airplane.
My initial thought was to wonder why these folks don't just get a photo ID card from the Department of Transportation. After all, most of the items needs to obtain a community ID are the same sorts of things that you need to get an ID card from the DOT. It was explained that the DOT is very strict about the condition of the documents that people bring in to show proof of identity. For example, they noted that a birth certificate will be rejected if it's not in good condition (i.e., not rips or missing corners).
If/when this gets approved by local governments, it would cost $5-10 to have a community ID issued. It was noted that it would probably be more effective to have Johnson County issue the community IDs instead of Iowa City. That way, the community ID cards would be recognized by all of the surrounding communities.
The Center for Worker Justice representatives were urging everyone (whether or not we have driver's licenses) to sign up for a community ID. The idea is that they will be more widely accepted if everyone (or a significant chunk of everyone) gets one. I didn't sign the pledge, but roughly 450 others have over the past three weeks.
I'm still not sure how I feel about community IDs, but I'm interested in learning more. I will follow up on this topic as it advances.
A community ID is essentially what it sound like. It is a picture ID card issued by the local or county government that would be available for all residents and that would be recognized by local police departments, public agencies, and businesses. This would be available to anyone: immigrants, citizens, senior citizens who cannot drive any longer, etc.
They are pushing for community IDs because there is a large number of local residents who do not have photo IDs at this time -- at least, they do not have photo IDs that are recognized by government or commercial agencies. As a result, they are more likely to have interactions with the police escalate due to an inability to prove who they are. They are less likely to be able to open bank accounts due to not having a recognizable form of picture ID. They are less likely to be able to find benefit from support services following a natural disaster without a form of recognizable picture ID. In general, it is more difficult for them as access basic services without an ID.
The community ID cards would not be recognized by outside municipalities. This would be strictly a local ID card. It could not be used for proof of ID when it came to registering to vote or for boarding an airplane.
My initial thought was to wonder why these folks don't just get a photo ID card from the Department of Transportation. After all, most of the items needs to obtain a community ID are the same sorts of things that you need to get an ID card from the DOT. It was explained that the DOT is very strict about the condition of the documents that people bring in to show proof of identity. For example, they noted that a birth certificate will be rejected if it's not in good condition (i.e., not rips or missing corners).
If/when this gets approved by local governments, it would cost $5-10 to have a community ID issued. It was noted that it would probably be more effective to have Johnson County issue the community IDs instead of Iowa City. That way, the community ID cards would be recognized by all of the surrounding communities.
The Center for Worker Justice representatives were urging everyone (whether or not we have driver's licenses) to sign up for a community ID. The idea is that they will be more widely accepted if everyone (or a significant chunk of everyone) gets one. I didn't sign the pledge, but roughly 450 others have over the past three weeks.
I'm still not sure how I feel about community IDs, but I'm interested in learning more. I will follow up on this topic as it advances.