{"id":17078,"date":"2018-05-14T12:45:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T16:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=17078"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:28:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T15:28:54","slug":"illegal-id-cards-blur-church-state-line-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2018\/05\/14\/illegal-id-cards-blur-church-state-line-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal ID Cards Blur Church-State Line in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0<\/strong>In the face of Texas\u2019s ban on sanctuary cities, a group of Dallas area churches is issuing photo identification cards to illegal aliens<\/a> \u2013 and local law-enforcement agencies are giving them a pass.<\/p>\n Dallas Area Interfaith<\/a> says hundreds of cards have been handed out, and thousands more applicants are awaiting their IDs. Dallas, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch police departments say they are accepting the church cards in lieu of a state-issued ID.<\/p>\n The Texas Department of Public Safety<\/a> lists several forms of valid identification. Church cards are not among them.<\/p>\n FAIR asked the state\u2019s chief law-enforcement officer, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, if church-generated identification cards were valid in light of the state\u2019s anti-sanctuary law. The answer: Unknown.<\/p>\n \u201cTo respond with the most legal accuracy, the Office of the Attorney General would need to issue a legal opinion in response to a request from an authorized requestor. We cannot give a legal opinion otherwise,\u201d Paxton spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn replied in an email.<\/p>\n An \u201cauthorized requestor\u201d<\/a> is a public official, according to the Attorney General\u2019s website. So far, there has been no official request.<\/p>\n In any event, the special church dispensations and their acceptance by police appear at odds with state statutes.<\/p>\n