NGOs Offering Illegal Immigrants Community ID Cards That Open Door to Services Critics Call ‘Incentives’

They say agencies and non-profits help make illegal border crossers feel more at home by helping with housing, food and health care.

Illegal immigrants walk through razor wire surrounding a makeshift migrant camp after crossing the border from Mexico, in El Paso, Texas, on May 11, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

Identification cards for illegal immigrants are increasingly being issued by non-government organizations (NGOs) to help them establish a foothold in U.S. cities and access services they can’t get through federal programs.

The ID cards are often called community IDs and are accepted by police departments, school districts, and food programs in some blue cities nationwide.