Safe and Welcoming Act Established In Wyandotte County

A huge crowd came to the commission meeting to share their views of being in favor of or against the Safe and Welcoming Act.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Commissioners voted 6-4 on Thursday, February 10, to pass the Safe and Welcoming City Act.

The new act allows Kansas City, KS residents who

do not have photo identification to obtain a

municipal identification card.

A municipal identification card is not a driver’s license and typically requires fewer barriers than a state and federal identification would require, like a permanent address, which not everyone has. It would allow community members without a state ID to open a bank account, see a doctor, apply for public benefits, and to engage with police.

The act also ensures that the Unified Government does not use its own resources to enforce federal immigration law.

A coalition of Kansas City, KS, organizations, including MORE2, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, KCK NAACP, the Justice, and Equity Coalition, and others have rallied for the act.