South Bend, Indiana mayor and Democratic\npresidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is bringing illegal aliens out of the\nshadows while keeping his city\u2019s taxpayers in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the lead of New York and Los Angeles, Buttigieg created a \u201cCommunity Resident Card\u201d that enables illegal aliens to access city services. The \u201cSB ID\u201d<\/a> is officially recognized by local law enforcement, schools, the water utility, libraries and other municipal agencies, per the mayor\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there\u2019s a key\ndifference: Buttigieg\u2019s program is a private venture. (Wink, wink.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeking information on SB ID, Judicial Watch of Washington, D.C., filed repeated public-records requests to ascertain its costs and operation. The city refused to provide any information, saying that SB ID is administered by a third party, La Casa de Amistad<\/a>. (La Casa isn\u2019t divulging details either.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buttigieg doesn\u2019t talk about SB ID on the campaign trail<\/a>, and he dodges questions about South Bend as a sanctuary city<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I regard us as a welcoming city,\u201d he avers, adding that his police force doesn\u2019t enforce immigration laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Doing this kind of [ID] program privately comes with a prominent benefit \u2014 confidentiality,\u201d Jackie Vimo, a policy analyst at the National Immigration Law Center, told NBC News<\/a>. \u201cThe best way to make sure sensitive data isn\u2019t shared is to make sure that you don\u2019t have any sensitive data to share.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judicial Watch<\/a> filed suit to obtain email communications among Buttigieg, his staff members and La Casa officials. Ultimately, the courts will determine if Buttigieg & Co. conspired to break Indiana\u2019s public-records laws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whichever way the courts\nsee it, the optics aren\u2019t good for Buttigieg when SB ID shields the identity of\nillegal aliens, even as it opens the door to taxpayer-funded services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of transparency \u2013 or lack of it — the city\u2019s housing authority is under FBI investigation<\/a>. It is noteworthy that as the mayor caters to a reputed 4,500 illegal aliens in South Bend, legal residents there have long complained of mismanagement and misuse of federal funds at the city\u2019s rundown projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ever eager to move other people\u2019s money around, Buttigieg suggested during a presidential debate that illegal aliens should be eligible for federal health insurance benefits<\/a>. Such talk is, to say the least, disturbing from a presidential candidate who seems comfortable trampling his constituents\u2019 right to know what his administration is up to, even as he aids foreign nationals in breaking our immigration laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Bend, Indiana mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is bringing illegal aliens out of the shadows while keeping his city\u2019s taxpayers in the dark. Following the lead of New York and Los Angeles, Buttigieg created a \u201cCommunity Resident Card\u201d that enables illegal aliens to access city services. The \u201cSB ID\u201d is officially recognized<\/p>\n