(no subject)

[wrenb]

I heard about this news story on NPR this morning. Prince William County in Virginia passed a resolution to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing any county services, and have authorized county police to check immigration status.

Leaving aside whether this is a good idea or not, I foresee major implementation issues. A person applying for a library card, arrested or entering a county health clinic may be asked for proof of immigration status/citizenship. I could prove my status (I carry a Resident Alien card) but my DH couldn't on a casual basis because he was born in the US. Are US citizens going to start carrying passports and birth certificates in their wallets?

This is likely to degrade into racial profiling. In order to beat that accusation they're going to have to ask *everyone* to document their citizenship/immigration status. That means not just Hispanics and other brown-skinned people but the 8th generation white American kid who has no passport. That's going to upset people.

Comments

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

The DMV is less good at checking citizenship than they would, ideally be - many illegal immigrants have managed, one way or another, to acquire drivers' licenses.

As a resident of a city with a large student population, I am well aware of the booming trade in faked and forged drivers' licenses, as well as stolen ones. I do not expect a librarian to have any particular ability to spot forgeries, or identify that the license presented by a patron is not that patron's legal property.

Then there is, as always, the problem of how to deal with people who don't drive, and consequently don't have drivers' licenses at all. They may or may not have DMV-issued state ID cards (if they're under 18, most likely not). Many homeless people hang out in libraries during the day, especially in winter, and don't have ID because they don't have legal addresses. These people typically don't have borrowing privileges (which require a mailing address to establish), but they use the building, read the newspapers, and use the computer access. Would they be banned because they can't prove citizenship? Would they not be allowed to walk through the park? Have you considered the inconvenience of blocking off something like a park so that ID can be checked and it can be assured that only legal immigrants are using it?