Salavarrieta received support from former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs for the cards issued through Angels for Action, Salavarrieta's organization, but Mapp has objected to the program since its inception. He took action after a group of Latinos told him they felt exploited and feared retaliation from Salavarrieta.
"They were concerned that the documents they provided to the individual could be used in an inappropriate manner and they requested the City's assistance in retrieving their documents." Mapp told Plaintalker. "They also want the money they paid for the useless piece of paper returned to them."
Mapp said the $10 card "is not an ID that is accepted by banks and other financial institutions, the police, or by most businesses." He said it was touted as being sponsored by the city and the Plainfield Police Division while it is not, and the city seal was being "used inappropriately" in connection with the ID cards.
After the group expressed fear of retaliation and sought his help in retrieving their documents, Mapp said he assured them the Police Division would "take appropriate steps" to protect them from retaliation.
According to published reports, Salavarrieta's group is selling the cards out of a building at 209 East Second Street in the PNC Bank parking lot.
Salavarrieta told Courier News reporter Sergio Bichao this week that Mapp and Police Director Carl Riley had asked her to "stop advertising the cards as city-endorsed."
--Bernice
if its a non profit why not give them away? because snake oil cost too much to give away for free.
ReplyDeleteCould Mapp be against the community IDs because they can be used as proof in the bars, clubs and liquor stores by the unauthorized?
ReplyDeleteThe cleaning up of downtown of day laborers and nighttime and drinkers has got to be a point of emphasis for the newer developers in town if there's going to be any hope of selling those condos and filling those beer halls. The Angels In Action Community IDs potentially work against that goal.
The IDs also cement the idea of Plainfield as a sanctuary city. Our public safety costs are high enough without inviting more residents who need both more protection and prevention. We also know that our schools are in terrible shape in the state rankings which affects every person in town, whether they have kids in school or not. Encouraging more non-native english speakers to settle in Plainfield will only make that worse.
I'm guessing that Mapp, like most (but not all), is for normalizing on a federal level the status of the unauthorized/illegals but that's not going to happen for at least a couple of years. In the meantime I believe that he sees no reason why Plainfield should add to the burden we now shoulder.
All I know is I have about 10 families living in a 2 family house next door to me and I get tired of them playing soccer on my lawn in the summer especially when we live 2 blocks from the school. I've tried to be nice and speak with the landlord asking him to have them not play on my lawn as well as they have 2 garbage containers yet they fill them and also have bags on the ground which brings rodents. The only time they stopped was when I told them I was going to call immigration then I didn't see them for a couple of weeks that let me know they are undocumented. I have a friend that just became a citizen this week, so I have no problem with you following the system to become a citizen but all this over crowding, I can't park in front of my house is a problem for me. So should they give them a ID card? Absolutely not, they should give them instructions on how to become legal law abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteBernice,
ReplyDeleteWhy does the Public Safety Director use an unmarked police car with the police lights and radio when he is a civilian and not allowed to by Law. If that's the case can't I as a tax payer in Plainfield be allowed to do the same thing?
Yes, the fact that Ms. Salavarietta continues to promote an enterprise that misleads individuals into thinking this worthless piece of paper has meaning is unfortunate. I am wondering whether fraud statutes might apply. I am deeply concerned about the "documents" that Angels in Action are holding onto--what if these documents (I am assuming passports? birth certificates?) get into the wrong hands and fake IDs are created? How do we know that fake IDs have not been created and that they are not being used? I find this troubling. I had conversations about this with the previous public safety director, Martin Hellwig, last year, and he told me that contrary to what Ms. Salavarietta was saying to the press, the police division did NOT endorse these cards. The previous mayor appearing in photo ops about these cards still did not have the imprimatur of the city. Further, for anyone to be telling agencies who are out to assist undocumented residents that the city council has supported this is an outright LIE.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
I paid for an ID card to the Little Rascal's "He Man Women Hating Club" back in the 1950's that only got me ability to pay adult prices on the rides at Seaside Heights. Sometimes we get suckered into things and have to learn our own lessons, but no the "Official" City position should be to NOT endorse it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the newly-reconstituted Plainfield Advisory Commission on Hispanic Affairs should do a study of this topic and present it to the council.
ReplyDeleteForgive subject/verb error in previous post--my bad!
Rebecca
Rebecca
In the article in the star ledger yesterday, it stated that people had turned over passports to receive this so called ID. I don't understand why if you already have a passport, you would need this card. Isn't your passport considered identification in itself? The article also quotes the woman in charge of the program as saying Puerto Ricans have also been requesting these cards. Again, I don't understand the reasoning behind this because Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory and as such already receive some kind of citizenship status if I remember one of my history lessons from oh so many, many years ago.
ReplyDeleteBecause nobody wants to carry their passport around with them just to show it at the library or to cash a check. The first rule of travel is: protect your passport and your cash. That holds double when you consider that there are some bad people out there to whom a stolen passport is gold.
ReplyDeleteI read the online S-L article twice and didn't see mention of Puerto Ricans. There are relatively few in Plainfield. Puerto Ricans are US citizens by law but also retain Puerto Rican citizenship.
NYT, 2/10/14:
ReplyDelete"In his first State of the City address, Mr. de Blasio said New York would become the largest municipality to offer identification cards to residents regardless of their legal status, making it easier for undocumented immigrants to open bank accounts, lease apartments or borrow library books."