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Cake day: June 15th, 2023

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  • Um Ackshually, there are many places where even “undocumented” people can be considered “registered” in this sense. “Undocumented” simply means lacking the authorization to be (and work) in the country, and is really just a minor paperwork violation unless an actual crime is committed in rhe process.

    So, many localities will try and integrate these people into the community, and provide them the same local services everyone else gets, by simply not asking them to show their passport first. So, they might be able to get their name on utility bills, and use that as proof of residency to get a drivers’ license, in spite of their lack of status. (This notion that undocumented people still deserve human dignity really irks Conservatives, even though they all had ancestors who held the same status here at some point.)

    This is really at the heart of what a “sanctuary city” policy is all about. It’s a recognition that a local government has a responsibility to all people living in it, regardless of their immigration status. And that local officials really don’t have the tools to be able to determine that anyway, so a local official won’t care about someone’s immigration status unless they are on the wrong side if the law. (Which also exposes the lie that these cities are less safe. If anything, sanctuary policies make it easier to kick out the miscreants, because no one is spending time chasing down undocumented people who are not causing trouble, leaving more time to find the bad eggs)