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Bill Would Ban Local ID Program For Undocumented Immigrants

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Officers in the Triad could be stripped of what they're calling a valuable crime-fighting tool -- IDs for undocumented immigrants. House bill 318 would eliminate the use of FaithAction International House ID cards.
FaithAction ID Card

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Officers in the Triad could be stripped of what they're calling a valuable crime-fighting tool -- IDs for undocumented immigrants. House bill 318 would eliminate the use of FaithAction International House ID cards because they are not a valid passport or state ID.

The Greensboro non-profit started the program with the help of Greensboro police about three years ago. The idea is to provide undocumented immigrants with an ID officers will accept. The IDs are also used to access healthcare, city utilities like water and the library. 

GPD said the IDs have helped breakdown barriers making it easier to get tips and find witnesses willing to cooperate.

"So, we have people who are reporting domestic violence who have said specifically that I wouldn't have come forward had we not had this idea and had the trust and know that I wasn't going to go to jail for coming forward to speak with you," Capt. Mike Richey with Greensboro Police said.

Dulce Ortiz, an undocumented immigrant in Greensboro, said she would have come forward years ago when someone committed a crime against her if she had had the ID card.

"I myself was a victim of a very bad crime and I was unable to come to police because I just simply, I felt scared. And I just don't want to come and say and think that they will do something different to me other than just hear me out," Ortiz said.

Capt. Richey said the IDs have helped them make breaks in a human trafficking case and a child sex abuse case. Chief Wayne Scott said the department is worried about losing the tool.

"Numerous occasions of cases that have involved individuals who we would not have had that report that contact with, it has helped us solve crimes, it has helped us prevent future crimes, we believe, by putting perpetrators behind bars," Chief Scott said.

Around 3,000 immigrants across the Triad have the FaithAction ID cards. Burlington police officers also accept the cards.

"The trust and the relationships that have developed through this have paid off because now while they were hesitant to come forward as victims of crimes or even witnesses of crimes, they're much more likely to come forward now," Capt. Jeff Wood with the Burlington Police Department said.

On the other side, NCFIRE or North Carolinians For Immigration Reform and Enforcement, says the group supports House Bill 318 100 percent.

"We feel it is past time to crack down on the illegal alien problem NC is experiencing," NCFIRE said in a statement. "These can not be verified for authenticity and are no more than fake ID cards. Anyone else in NC making one of these would be arrested."

Representatives from Cincinnati, Ohio are coming to Greensboro to learn more about the FaithAction ID program in October. State lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill in the next couple of days.

 

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