Thread: S.F. supervisors approve ID cards for residents

S.F. supervisors approve ID cards for residents
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

(11-13) 15:56 PST San Francisco - -- The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to issue municipal identification cards to city residents - regardless of whether they are in the country legally - and to double the amount of public money available to candidates running for supervisor.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who authored the ID card legislation, said the program is a smart public safety measure because it would make residents living on the social margins of San Francisco more likely to seek the help of police and could give them more access to banking services.

"People are afraid to report crimes," Ammiano said, referring to illegal immigrants who avoid local law enforcement authorities over fear of being arrested or deported by federal immigration officials.

The legislation would require companies holding city contracts to accept the municipal card as a legitimate form of identification - except in cases where other state and federal laws require other forms of proof of age, name and residence.

Under San Francisco's sanctuary ordinance, it is city policy that no municipal government personnel or resources be used to assist federal immigration officials in the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.

Ammiano said banking institutions in San Francisco have signaled their willingness to accept the municipal ID card for the purpose of setting up accounts. He noted that people without bank accounts are frequently more vulnerable to theft and robbery.

Officials with the city's Bank on San Francisco program, which helps people obtain bank accounts, said institutions such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Washington Mutual and US Bank had expressed interest in accepting the ID cards.

Bank on San Francisco is a city partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank. Although criteria for opening bank accounts are set in part through the USA Patriot Act, "to our knowledge that law is not a bar to a municipal ID," said David Augustine, spokesman for the city treasurer's office, which oversees the program.

The ID legislation, which was approved 10-1 on the first of two readings, has the support of Mayor Gavin Newsom and would make San Francisco the largest city in the country to issue municipal identification. The city of New Haven, Conn., began issuing cards earlier this year.

Ammiano said he hopes the card could eventually be used at city libraries and become compatible with the regional TransLink transit card system.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd voted against the measure, saying his opposition was primarily financial because the city doesn't know how much implementing the program will cost. "Next year's budget is not going to be pretty," Elsbernd said. "With all the services included, this could shortchange our budget discussion."

The San Francisco County Clerk has estimated the cost of the program could range between $1.07 million and $2.86 million in the first three years, much of that for staff to process the cards.

Supporters of tougher enforcement of U.S. immigration laws argue that local identification card programs have the effect of legitimizing the decisions of people who entered or have remained in the country illegally and making it more difficult for the federal government to enforce those laws.

The supervisors also gave final approval to a measure that would nearly double - to $88,000 - the amount of public money available to people running for seats on the Board of Supervisor.

To qualify for public financing under the measure, a candidate must raise at least $52,500 in private funds and cannot spend more than $140,000 on the campaign.

Elsbernd objected, noting that he and two other supervisors would be seeking re-election next year and essentially were being put in a position to vote to be able to spend more taxpayer dollars on their campaigns.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, one of the other incumbents up for re-election, attempted to amend the legislation so it wouldn't apply next year in supervisorial districts where sitting supervisors were seeking a new term.

But the supervisors voted down that amendment, and the board eventually passed the measure 8-3, with Supervisors Carmen Chu, Elsbernd and Michela Alioto-Pier voting against it.

In other action:
-- The supervisors unanimously gave initial approval to consolidating all of the city's workforce development programs under a new Department of Economic and Workforce Development. The measure is intended to allow the city to account for the tens of millions of dollars it currently spends on the programs.

-- In an 8-3 vote, the supervisors gave initial approval to an ordinance barring vehicles from some portions of roads in Golden Gate Park for the next five years. After five years, the supervisors would have to revisit the closure to make changes or lift the ban. Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Michela Alioto-Pier and Carmen Chu voted against it.

-- The supervisors gave final approval to a requirement that petition circulators identify themselves as paid workers or volunteers and to another measure that would require people conducting persuasion polls over the phone to identify the call as such.

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 9TBP5H.DTL

They will SO regret this when the once lovely and and bustling city of San Francisco resembles Tijuana.

BIG MISTAKE!!

The San Francisco County Clerk has estimated the cost of the program could range between $1.07 million and $2.86 million in the first three years, much of that for staff to process the cards.

Gee . . . . I wonder who will pay for this . . . American Girl I don't blame you for leaving Mexifornia, they have zero shame when it comes to piling on the taxes in the name of keeping their illegal population, fed, healthy, educated and happy.

Related article:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-90581.htm[/quote]

There's crime in San Francisco? I thought that was liberal Utopia?

It's actually becoming rather amusing here in CA to watch the fierce competition between Gavin Newsome (SF mayor) and Villaraigosa (LA mayor) in their quest for Governor (when Schwarzenegger terms out). Each one is trying to 'out-pander' each other! The race has not even begun yet, but Newsome scored big points with this shameless act of voter fraud ID's!

It would be hilarious if all of the illegals in SF used their phony ID's to vote for their REAL Mexican leader...Tony Villar!

It never ceases to amaze me that these crooked politicians think that We the People are stupid! We all know that the Spitzer driver's licenses and now the Newsome ID fraud are all about VOTES! Voter fraud will be rampant from here on out...watch for more states to follow the lead.

Originally Posted by WhatMattersMost

The San Francisco County Clerk has estimated the cost of the program could range between $1.07 million and $2.86 million in the first three years, much of that for staff to process the cards.

Gee . . . . I wonder who will pay for this . . . American Girl I don't blame you for leaving Mexifornia, they have zero shame when it comes to piling on the taxes in the name of keeping their illegal population, fed, healthy, educated and happy.

WhatMattersMost...I couldn't get out of that hell-hole known as Spring Valley (a suburb of San Diego) fast enough. Parts of Spring Valley are truly no better than Tijuana.

And parts of San Francisco will one day be just as bad. Just wait and see.

+ Votes= Fraud....Poor California!!

Updated

Nov 14, 10:56 PM EST
SF to Issue ID Cards to Immigrants

By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The city has tentatively approved a program to provide identification cards to illegal immigrants, transgender people and other residents who may be unable or unwilling to get a state-issued driver's license.

The Board of Supervisors, San Francisco's version of a city council, voted 10-1 Tuesday to approve the program late Tuesday. Next week, they will take a final vote, which is considered a formality. Mayor Gavin Newsom has said he intends to sign it.

The identification card program was modeled after one launched this summer in New Haven, Conn., and is designed to help residents without IDs to access services and feel safe dealing with police.

Similar programs have been proposed in New York City and Miami, but so far San Francisco is the biggest city to adopt one.

The supervisors directed the city clerk to start issuing the ID cards within nine months. The dissenter had concerns about the cost to implement the program.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano introduced the ID card concept after Congress failed to adopt immigration reform legislation this summer and following a series of federal immigration raids in the Bay area.

"Our city just can't stand by while our federal government takes no action to address the safety needs of our community," he said. "If our friends and neighbors are not fully able to participate with us in civic life, we all lose in the end."

The program, scheduled to go into effect next August, will charge adults $15 for each card and $5 for children to defray costs, which are expected to run between $423,000 and $1.1 million during the first year.

To be eligible, residents would have to produce an existing photo ID, such as a passport or foreign driver's license, as well as a recent utility bill or bank statement. The recipients cannot use the IDs to drive; they would still need a state driver's license.

Government agencies and nonprofit groups that receive city funds would be required to accept the cards as valid identification and proof of residency except for hiring or other areas where doing so conflicts with federal or state laws.

Some of the services that ID holders could use are libraries, public golf courses, health clinics and cultural institutions that give resident discounts such as museums and zoos, Ammiano said.

The cards, available to the city's 750,000 residents, are intended for undocumented residents who are ineligible for driver's licenses, senior citizens who no longer drive and transgender people whose driver's licenses no longer reflect their appearances.

Unlike in New Haven, where anti-immigration groups actively opposed the cards, the ID measure has not met much dissent here. Labor unions, advocates for the homeless and immigrant rights activists all lobbied for its passage.

Kica Matos, the community services administrator for New Haven, population 125,000, said the city, which expected to issue about 5,000 municipal IDs in one year, has issued 4,631 in 3 1/2 months.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ ... SECTION=US