Florida’s Legislature is advancing a bill that seeks to eliminate the validity of community identification cards. An initiative that could deny undocumented immigrants access to multiple essential services if approved.
The initiative, promoted by Senator Blaise Ingoglia, has already been approved in three state Senate committees and is nearing debate on the floor, which is dominated by the Republican Party.
Following another bill passed last year that prohibits local governments from funding organizations that issue these IDs, Ingoglia’s proposal goes further by directly banning counties and cities from accepting these cards.
“It’s an attack on immigrants, but it doesn’t just affect them—it impacts everyone else who benefits,” said Danielle Chanzes, a Dominican resident of Alachua County in northern Florida, who has held one of these cards for years.
The immigrant referred to other users of these IDs, including the homeless, former inmates, and the elderly. For them, these IDs are the only way to obtain a public transit pass, a library card, or even register to pick up children from schools.
“Everyone is worried because it’s a good program. Community IDs help a lot of people,” Chanzes revealed. She volunteers at a legal clinic run by the Alachua County Human Rights Coalition.
The Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimated that prohibiting local municipalities from recognizing these IDs constitutes “a serious government overreach.”
“Instead of stifling Floridians’ ability to live their lives, Florida lawmakers should focus on making the state a better place to live,” the organization added.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) highlights that these IDs are backed by local law enforcement, as they are important tools for public safety.
Republican Ingoglia, however, justifies his proposal by arguing that these IDs act as a “magnet” for undocumented immigration.
“I think it’s wrong that we’re creating magnets to encourage people to come and make it easier for illegal immigrants to assimilate into the country without crossing the border legally,” he stated during a discussion of the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Thomas Kennedy, spokesperson for FLIC, called it “unfortunate” that the senator holds this view, noting that funding for these programs is private and does not cost the state anything.
The measure is part of a “political game” that reflects “the Trumpist rhetoric that has characterized the state over the last four or five years,” Kennedy added, referring to former President Donald Trump (2017–2021), who is the leading Republican candidate for the upcoming general election in November.
Chanzes has been a user of these IDs for years.
She said they have been “extremely helpful,” especially because they confirm her residency in Alachua County, one of the first in Florida to accept these IDs, which include identity, age, and address information.
“They don’t give them to just anyone,” FLIC’s spokesperson emphasized, noting that obtaining a community ID requires going through a process that includes submitting proof of current residency.
In Miami-Dade County alone, where the municipality began recognizing these IDs in 2022—during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when proof of residency was required to receive the vaccine—it is estimated that 10% of the population lacks any form of identification.
Civil organizations expect the proposal, which is backed by a similar bill in the state House of Representatives, to pass all stages and reach the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is likely to sign it.
Kennedy said they will wait to see how the law is implemented and how it affects its beneficiaries before deciding on next steps. “If that means filing a lawsuit, we will,” he stated.
“There are many people in Tallahassee (the state capital) who seem to be sending the message that immigrants are not welcome, but there is a community that will accept them,” Chanzes said. EFE
Image: Infobae
