Joe rolls out the red carpet: White House considers giving I.D. cards to migrants to make it easier for them to access benefits before court hearings amid historic surge in border crossings

  • The administration plans to launch a program providing I.D. cards to migrants in the U.S. so they can more easily access government services and benefits 
  • The program is meant to be mutually beneficial to migrants and the government
  • Incentivizes migrant check-ins and more communication with law enforcement 
  • Democrats are looking to get congressional approval for the program before the end of September to avoid a roadblock should Republicans win a majority  

The Biden administration plans to launch an initiative providing temporary I.D. cards to migrants awaiting decisions on their immigration proceedings so they can more easily access government benefits.

Illegal immigrants and asylum-seeking migrants awaiting final decisions on their cases often have difficulty getting housing, healthcare and transportation without identification cards.

In order to relieve some of these obstacles, and serve as a mutual benefit to the government, officials are now considering a pilot program that would provide I.D. cards while incentivizing checks ins and more frequent communication with law enforcement throughout immigration proceedings, two sources familiar with planning told Axios.

The cards would feature a photo and biographic identifiers. It would also include ‘cutting-edge security features,’ an ICE spokesperson said.

The cards ideally would be provided to migrants who entered the U.S. illegally over the Mexican border but are not in detention centers or other unauthorized people going through the immigration or removal processes.

It would allow these immigrants to more easily prove to authorities that they are already in the immigration system and ideally would provide incentive to unauthorized migrants to provide accurate information to the government on their location.

Currently, illegal immigrants going through court proceedings would need to physically check in with law enforcement at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office.

Administration officials are scrambling to get congressional approval before October to roll out the test program amid fears that a Republican takeover in November could prevent it from launching.