Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg on Friday said the federal government should be responsible for making sure anyone living in the United States can prove who they say they are with some kind of identification.

“I do believe it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure anyone who lives here, regardless of their immigration status, has a means to demonstrate that they are who they say they are,” said Mr. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

At a candidate forum in Miami, Mr. Buttigieg had been asked about a program he helped institute in South Bend to provide community ID cards to illegal immigrants who couldn’t secure other forms of identification.

“This was a priority for me because it was a priority for so many in the community,” he said.

“What we realized is we had many residents who were not able to access things that the rest of us take for granted — just the ability to pick up a prescription, the idea that you can verify that you [are] the parent of a child you’re picking up from day care,” he said. “And in an interaction with police, the ability to establish who you are — something so important for residents, but also for law enforcement to be able to do their job.”

He said he realized he didn’t have to wait on the federal or state government to address the issue.

“Not only for undocumented residents — I’ve got one myself,” he said. “But something that would be very useful for undocumented residents.”

Mr. Buttigieg and other 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls were speaking at the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

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