The Jury Talks Back

1/15/2009

San Francisco issues ID cards to illegal residents

Filed under: Uncategorized — aunursa @ 7:28 pm

The city of San Francisco began issuing identification cards today to illegal immigrants who are city residents.  The SF City ID Card provides holders with access to services and other benefits available to city residents.  The cards are modeled after a similar program in New Haven, Conn.

Each card is valid for two years and contains the holder’s name, address, photograph, and emergency medical information.  The card is accepted as valid identification at city agencies.  Cardholders can check out books free at public libraries and receive services at city health clinics, cultural attractions, and parks.  Eight banks and credit unions will accept the card as primary identification to open a checking account, and so far nearly three dozen San Francisco shops, restaurants, and other merchants have signed up to offer discounts to cardholders.

Bear in mind that with the city facing a $576 million budget deficit, Mayor Gavin Newsom has directed that department heads slash 12.5% and possibly as much as 25% of the city budget for 2009.  Proposed cuts, on top of a 6% cut already instituted last year, include layoffs of firefighters and cancellation of two police academy classes.  The health department has already made sharp cuts in programs that provide care for drug addicts and the mentally ill.

23 Comments

  1. But they’re going to spend how much on this worthless program?

    Comment by AD — 1/15/2009 @ 10:20 pm

  2. Maybe the feds should first reduce the aid it gives to SF to zero for this nonsense.

    Comment by Dr. K — 1/16/2009 @ 2:48 am

  3. But they’re going to spend how much on this worthless program?

    According to the San Francisco Examiner, the cardmaking machine cost the city $500,000, and the salary of the staff totals $125,000 per year.

    Comment by aunursa — 1/16/2009 @ 4:54 am

  4. I have an idea, use these SF IDs like Handgun Control wants to use gun registration forms. In this case, use the information collected to round up and deport the Illegals.

    Comment by PCD — 1/16/2009 @ 5:57 am

  5. The machine couldn’t possibly cost that much. I make IDs for a living and my equipment, used, cost about 8K. Maybe I said too much.

    Comment by Jack — 1/16/2009 @ 6:18 am

  6. Eight banks and credit unions will accept the card as primary identification to open a checking account, and so far nearly three dozen San Francisco shops, restaurants, and other merchants have signed up to offer discounts to cardholders.

    That looks like a nice list of people to sue for discrimination.

    Loving Cup
    2356 Polk St
    San Francisco, CA 94109
    10% off any flavor of rice pudding

    I want my 10% off rice pudding!!

    Comment by Pablo — 1/16/2009 @ 6:44 am

  7. #5 Jack: The machine couldn’t possibly cost that much.

    Officials didn’t dole out millions for the most iron-clad security features, such as biometric microchips, but the cards are difficult to counterfeit or forge.

    A small picture of the bearer appears at the bottom-right corner, but the picture is laser-engraved so the image disappears when the ID is tilted. Also, text appears in three different places, but is so small that it can only be seen with a magnifying glass.

    The card also contains a secret, microscopic feature only a few officials know about.

    The names and phone numbers of card bearers’ emergency contacts are listed on the back, along with medical information. A magnetic stripe is included on the card, although The City has yet to decide what information will be held on its limited memory.

    The machine that makes the cards, located in the County Clerk’s Office, will do a facial search for each applicant to ensure someone doesn’t receive two cards with different names.

    Comment by aunursa — 1/16/2009 @ 7:57 am

  8. Immigration Officials need to wait a few months, and then raid the files to get locations of these people, and rent the Greyhound fleet for a few days and ship them the fuck back home.

    Comment by Scott Jacobs — 1/16/2009 @ 8:35 am

  9. The cards are available to all city residents, not just immigrants.

    Comment by aunursa — 1/16/2009 @ 9:26 am

  10. Immigration Officials need to wait a few months, and then raid the files to get locations of these people, and rent the Greyhound fleet for a few days and ship them the fuck back home.

    Depending on the country of origin, they might need to rent some airplanes as well.

    Comment by aunursa — 1/16/2009 @ 9:28 am

  11. Talking about renting airplanes is not a good thing today….

    Comment by reff — 1/16/2009 @ 10:03 am

  12. But hiring that pilot is my first priority the next time I fly…

    Comment by reff — 1/16/2009 @ 10:03 am

  13. Comment by reff — 1/16/2009 @ 10:03 am

    Pfft.

    Considering they are illegals, I suggest hiring John Denver and JFK Jr…

    Comment by Scott Jacobs — 1/16/2009 @ 10:06 am

  14. Is there a racist catagory for airline pilots???

    If so, you are (fill in the blank)__________!!!??!

    Comment by reff — 1/16/2009 @ 10:10 am

  15. Comment by aunursa — 1/16/2009 @ 9:26 am

    Any legal resident that sinks to requesting such a card needs to be deported too.

    Comment by AD — 1/16/2009 @ 11:56 am

  16. 15, AD, how about deporting Newsom and the SF Supervisors to Zimbabwe?

    Comment by PCD — 1/16/2009 @ 12:23 pm

  17. Cool!

    Comment by AD — 1/16/2009 @ 12:24 pm

  18. “the cards are difficult to counterfeit or forge.”

    Why? Seriously, why? If the whole point of the program is to give ID to everybody that is “undocumented”, then what would be the point of counterfietting the cards in the first place? 10 per cent off rice pudding can’t be worth all that much, can it?

    Comment by Sean P — 1/16/2009 @ 5:05 pm

  19. A little rice pudding here, and a little rice pudding there, pretty soon you’ve got a severe case of diabetes.
    …with apologies to Ev Dirksen.

    Comment by AD — 1/16/2009 @ 7:29 pm

  20. Serious question: If businesses are offering discounts to city residents who have such cards, are not those businesses engaging in a form of illegal discrimination?

    Comment by The inquisitive Dana — 1/17/2009 @ 5:57 am

  21. [...] San Francisco issues ID cards to illegal residents Filed under: Uncategorized — aunursa @ 7:28 pm [...]

    Pingback by Common Sense Political Thought » Blog Archive » The unreality is astounding — 1/17/2009 @ 6:32 am

  22. Serious question: If businesses are offering discounts to city residents who have such cards, are not those businesses engaging in a form of illegal discrimination?

    I don’t know the law on this matter, but…

    Disneyland and Walt Disney World offer special rates on annual passes to state residents. Cruise lines offer special rates to residents of certain states as well.

    Comment by aunursa — 1/17/2009 @ 7:38 pm

  23. I remember a bank once not accepting a CA driver’s license as sufficient ID for opening an account. They wanted a credit card and my !social security card!

    Times change I guess.

    Comment by Kevin Murphy — 1/19/2009 @ 9:28 am

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