Undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, who cannot get driver’s licenses because of their status in the country, will be provided library cards with which they can open bank accounts. A person who has a Los Angels ID will be issued a library card. According to a new proposal voted by the City Council of Los Angeles, the city will join other cities that offer various IDs to undocumented immigrants and to the other undocumented immigrants who are ineligible to obtain driver’s licenses.
This proposal was also approved by Oakland and San Francisco. According to a recent report from the Pew Health Group, lot of undocumented immigrants in Los Angels are unable to open bank accounts as they do not have official identification documents. Los Angeles councilman said that the undocumented immigrants who do not have bank accounts are robbed as they have to keep large amounts of money in their homes and most of them are defrauded by scammers.
The library cards that are likely to be issued by the libraries, however, may not substitute driver’s licenses. But those cards are likely to protect the undocumented immigrants from deportation. Those photo identification cards will contain the names and addresses of the holders and the undocumented immigrants who wish to obtain those cards must pay around $20.
After getting those cards, undocumented immigrants will be able to deposit and withdraw money through the ATMs. Holders of those library cards may be required to pay around 2.99 as monthly fees. However, there is also a notion that these cards may be misused by terrorists and criminals. But the undocumented immigrants in the city, say that they are looking forward to obtain the library cards as those cards will be helpful for them in many ways and it will help them to deal with the police and the immigration authorities.