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Bills Would Ban Police From Accepting "Community IDs"

North Carolina General Assembly

Police in North Carolina have been accepting what is called a community ID from people who are in the country illegally and others who don’t have the proper documentation to get a state-issued one. Two bills in the state legislature would stop that practice. Law enforcement groups aren’t happy about that.

Community IDs have been around for a few years in North Carolina. People can present them at some hospitals and businesses as ID. The City of Greensboro began allowing people to use them to pay water bills and apply for library cards last year. Shortly after, lawmakers banned all state and local agencies from accepting them. That is, except for police. But now some state lawmakers, like Representative George Cleveland, think that exception was a bad idea.

  He feels the community IDs have created an inappropriate level of cooperation between law enforcement and people who are in the country illegally.

“These are individuals that are supposed to enforce the law. They take an oath to enforce the law and they’re encouraging illegal aliens to get ID cards so they can be quasi-legal. It makes absolutely no sense,” says Sanders.

Law enforcement worked with the group FaithAction in Greensboro to decide what documents people would need to get these IDs. For example, proof of address, like a utility bill, paired with something like an ID from another country. That model has been replicated across the state. Many police departments in the state, like CMPD, accept these IDs.

Eddie Caldwell with the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association says the IDs are a big help. He says without the community ID, basic traffic stops and simple misdemeanor charges would be a lot more complicated.

“They couldn’t issue you a citation because they don’t know who you are,” said Caldwell. “So if they have no reliable information that they’re allowed to use, the only way they can charge you with that criminal offense is to take you into custody and either let you post bond or go to jail.”

House Bill 1069 passed a committee vote on Wednesday. Senate Bill 868 passed a committee vote last month.