¡EBLRLA Immigrant Rights Committee supports the Oakland Municipal ID Coalition!
Several months ago, Centro Legal de la Raza began organizing and hosting meetings to discuss creating an Oakland Municipal ID — following similar innovations in New Haven, CT and San Francisco, CA, and following the expansion of Oakland’s sanctuary ordinance last year.
At last night’s meeting at el Centro, we agreed to post news about the Oakland Municipal ID Coalition on the EBLRLA website.
We see the establishment of a city ID card as a means to provide an official government-issued identification to various members of the community such as immigrants, youth, the elderly, homeless, and transgender individuals who often do not have access to services and resources due to lack of acceptable identification.
The potential benefits to Oakland city residents include:
- Full participation of all residents in civic affairs
- Access of all residents to local resources such as libraries and museums
- Ability of all residents to participate in local commerce such as opening a bank account, establishing credit, accessing loans, etc.
- Improvement in public safety by erasing barriers to crime reporting and witness cooperation
- Discounts at City institutions such as the zoo, museums, etc.
- The card could also benefit children and youth who become lost and normally possess no identification or emergency contact information and elderly citizens who no longer drive and therefore no longer possess a valid driver’s license.
Join us! Our next meeting is scheduled for May 14, 2008, 6pm at the Oakland Worker Center. For further information, please email oaklandcityidcard@gmail.com.
For more information about the EBLRLA Immigrant Rights Committee, click here.