Biden administration plans ID cards for unauthorized immigrants
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The Biden administration is hoping to roll out a pilot scheme that would provide unauthorized immigrants with temporary ID cards while they await a decision on their immigration cases, Axios reports. The government will seek Congressional approval for the plan before the midterm elections in November.
Titled the “ICE Secure Docket Card program,” the ID plan aims to reduce extensive paperwork and bureaucracy while incentivizing unauthorized immigrants to maintain more frequent contact with law enforcement agencies as they go through complex and lengthy legal proceedings, Axios said. The card would include a photo, biographic identifiers, and security features.
Although details have not been finalized, Axios has been told by sources familiar with the matter that the ID card would generally be provided to “migrants, not in detention centers who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border or others without legal status going through the lengthy immigration or removal court processes.”
The sources told Axios the ID card will probably have a QR code that would enable holders to access court information and documents via an app, thus reducing the increasing number of Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information about immigration cases. Cardholders who are stopped by law enforcement will also be able to prove their cases are being processed through the system.
“The ICE Secure Docket Card program is part of a pilot program to modernize various forms of documentation provided to provisionally released noncitizens through a consistent, verifiable, secure card,” an ICE spokesperson told Axios. A primary goal of the card is to “improve current, inconsistent paper forms that often degrade rapidly in real world use,” ICE said.