JOE TRILLO STATEMENT ON PROVIDENCE MUNICIPAL ID PROGRAM

Mayor Elorza’s municipal ID program is just another example of how our
leaders are pandering for votes and circumventing the law at the cost of
every taxpayer in this state, like when our governor calls for state police
and prison guards never to turn convicts over to federal authorities. Are
these the type of people we want making decisions for taxpayers?

The mayor originally said that these IDs are primarily intended for
“undocumented immigrants,” but under criticism the city is trying to walk
that back by saying it will be for other groups like the homeless,
students, or transgenders. The IDs will not be legally binding anywhere and
are now being pitched as a “discount card.” The city is spending $150,000
(it is unclear how much each card will cost) on a private firm, mainly to
figure out how to protect the information on cardholders, since illegal
alien cardholders can become targets of the Department Homeland Security.
In other words, the mayor is now trying to figure out how to hide the
identities of cardholders from federal authorities. This is a scam, a waste
of money for the city, and obviously intended to circumvent federal laws.
It is another example of how our state leadership is turning Rhode Island
into a haven for illegals, subsidized by honest, law-abiding taxpayers.