Detroit ID could allow voting, services for homeless

Immigrants, homeless people and others in Detroit who struggle to obtain a government-issued photo ID could soon get a Detroit municipal ID, City Council members and other officials announced Friday.

Documents the Secretary of State requires for a state ID can be restrictive, making it difficult for some to prove their identity and gain access to vital city services, Councilwoman Raquel Castaneda-Lopez said.

“We would like it to be accepted as broadly as possible,” Castaneda-Lopez said at a news conference outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. “The goal is to have a card that people can use, that’s easier to acquire and they can use it at multiple institutions.”

The application for a Detroit municipal ID, as envisioned, would remove barriers to obtaining an ID in several ways. It would not ask for immigration status, for example, and someone who is homeless could use a local shelter as an address if the person has been staying there for a sustained amount of time. Officials have not yet defined a requirement for duration of residency; it could be between 15 and 60 days.

A city ordinance to establish the program has been drafted and could be introduced in the next six months.

Mayor Mike Duggan’s office said he is working closely with those developing the municipal ID program. Council members Mary Sheffield and Andre Spivey also attended the announcement.

Sheffield said a Detroit municipal ID would greatly benefit the city’s homeless. Sheffield has made it a priority to better serve Detroit’s homeless after a makeshift tent city where the homeless took shelter during the frigid winter drew attention to homeless shelter conditions.

“This municipal ID would allow these individuals to take part in activities that many of us take for granted,” Sheffield said. “It would also remove a very important barrier to obtaining permanent housing, which we know that individuals in the homeless community need in order for them to maintain a better life for themselves.”

Supporters of the Detroit ID want the card to be accepted at banks, libraries, museums and city service providers. It is possible the municipal ID could be used for voting, officials said.

Funding has not been finalized, but Castaneda-Lopez said the nominal fees for obtaining a Detroit ID could support the program.

Friday’s announcement comes two months after Washtenaw County launched its municipal ID program. So far, the county has issued about 800 IDs, said Keta Cowan of the Washtenaw County ID task force.

Washtenaw County’s program requires proof of residency for 30 days. It uses a point-based system that assigns values to certain documents. A U.S. or foreign passport can be worth 200 points and, on the lower end of the spectrum, a baptismal record or trade school transcript is worth 50 points. An applicant needs to cross a 300-point threshold and meet other criteria to get a Washtenaw County ID.

Detroit’s model could use a similar point-based structure, Castaneda-Lopez said. Municipal ID guidelines in New York City, San Francisco and other cities also are being studied.

The municipal ID is part of an effort to make Detroit a more welcoming city, she said.

“It’s about building a diverse, inclusive global city and so increasing access to city services in general is one key component so this ID card would allow immigrants — both documented and undocumented — to use city services.”

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeguillen.