Los Angeles mayor wants ID card for immigrants
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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (left) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas (right) hold a joint news conference at the Los Angeles Central Library on Sept 19, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Immigrants would get access to banking services in Los Angeles under a proposal by the mayor that would create an official city photo identification card that could also be used as a prepaid ATM card for their private bank account. -- PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Immigrants would get access to banking services in Los Angeles under a proposal by the mayor that would create an official city photo identification card that could also be used as a prepaid ATM card for their private bank account.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says his plan is similar to programs in San Francisco and Oakland, where ID cards are issued to anyone who can prove residency, regardless of immigration status, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"It will be an official ID," Mr Villaraigosa told the newspaper. "It will be as strong an effort as San Francisco's."
An estimated 4.3 million immigrants live in Los Angeles.
