Immigrant IDs to be Issued in Miami-Dade and Broward
Key Points(5)
- </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she was a Miami-Dade commissioner, Levine Cava unsuccessfully proposed community IDs modeled on other North Carolina and Virginia municipalities.
- In 2021, a year after becoming Mayor, she placed the item back on the agenda.
- Levine Cava and others who supported the proposal noted that immigrants struggle to access COVID-19 tests and vaccines because of the ID requirement.
- These counties are also home to a large percentage of Florida’s immigrant community.
- According to the American Immigration Council, one in five residents in Florida is an immigrant.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Broward County’s community ID program was proposed last year by then-Commissioner Dale Holness - a Jamaican immigrant.
Miami-Dade County, home to many Caribbean nationals, will soon issue immigrant IDs to migrants living in the country illegally and others who don’t have identification.
The plan proposed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava passed by a 7-2 vote on Tuesday.
When she was a Miami-Dade commissioner, Levine Cava unsuccessfully proposed community IDs modeled on other North Carolina and Virginia municipalities. In 2021, a year after becoming Mayor, she placed the item back on the agenda. Levine Cava and others who supported the proposal noted that immigrants struggle to access COVID-19 tests and vaccines because of the ID requirement.
They also noted that the IDs would enable immigrants to use library resources, local recreation facilities, and storm shelters and provide them with the necessary identification to return to their homes after evacuating during hurricanes or fires.
Miami-Dade not the first to pass this program
Other South Florida counties, namely Broward and Palm Beach, have also passed similar programs. These counties are also home to a large percentage of Florida’s immigrant community. According to the American Immigration Council, one in five residents in Florida is an immigrant.
Broward County’s community ID program was proposed last year by then-Commissioner Dale Holness - a Jamaican immigrant. He stated that news of an immigrant resident in his district being turned away from a vaccination site after attempting to use a passport as an ID triggered the proposal.
“In an email that I received, someone gave the story of an elderly immigrant Haitian woman who was in line to get the vaccination. She presented her passport to get the vaccination, and she was told she couldn’t use that form of identification to get the vaccine. Police officers told her they only accept Florida ID. She was turned away,” he told the Broward Commission.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony also showed his support for the program in a letter to the Commissioners.
“Broward County has thousands of residents who lack identification for various reasons. With the homeless, undocumented, formerly incarcerated, to elderly, these and other bureaucratically challenged residents do not have access to many basic and vital services. The community ID will provide these residents with a way to access those services,” Sheriff Tony stated.
Program starts this month
Starting this month, Broward residents can apply for the community ID card through the Legal Aid Service of Broward County, a non-profit agency.
Individuals must first register for an orientation session to apply for a community identification card. A session scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 5, in Miramar is already fully booked. The next session is Saturday, March 5, in Pompano Beach.
The first in-person event (by appointment only) will occur at the Miramar Multi-Service Complex, 6700 Miramar Parkway, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To register, visit BrowardLegalAid.org/CommunityID. Both events are by appointment only.
The ID card includes a photo, date of birth, and address and costs $20. It is also not exclusively for immigrants. Formerly incarcerated people, foster youth, homeless people, refugees, or anyone in Broward who has difficulty getting a government-issued ID may apply.
