Municipal ID cards are a game-changer for vulnerable residents of Wyandotte County.
As a child of immigrants who also researches and advocates for immigration reform, I was overjoyed to hear the Safe and Welcoming Act was passed in Wyandotte County. Local advocates for immigration reform have fought for half a decade to get it passed. The act provides opportunities for undocumented or unauthorized immigrants, the elderly and the homeless to secure photo municipal ID cards while limiting police collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I hope the many immigrants who live among us will be less fearful in their own communities.
Few people recognize the anxieties of undocumented life. But with emerging policies such as this act, many local undocumented immigrants may feel less hesitant about driving at night to take their sick child to the emergency room for fear of being stopped because they fit a “profile.” Others may feel more comfortable reporting being the victims of crime. From picking up medicine at the pharmacy to buying a car to travel to work or a cellphone to communicate with friends and loved ones, this allows people just like you and me to live more comfortably doing essential things while taking care of their families.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article259274649.html#storylink=cpy