Do you know how to get your community ID?

Charlotte – NC. The Latin American Coalition (LAC) offers a Community ID Card as part of the Interfaith Action Network.

This card provides the immigrant with a verifiable identification that can be used as a tool by law enforcement and other community agencies to identify, provide services and protection (this identification will be accepted according to the policy of each agency and the discernment of each officer).

This benefit is granted upon admission to a workshop where individuals receive a presentation on knowing their rights, where CMPD officers participate, creating awareness and understanding between the community and the officers. We do not issue IDs to people who enter without the strict verification process we follow.

The Faith Action ID Network benefit has expanded to other locations, where they now issue ID cards, including Guilford, Alamance, Randolph, Forsyth, Mecklenburg and Orange counties. Agencies supporting the program include the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Burlington, Graham, Mebane, Elon, Gibsonville, Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Asheboro Police, as well as the Forsyth and Moses Cone County Sheriff’s Offices and Wake Forest Baptist Hospitals.

Limitations of the LAC ID card:

– It is not a driver’s license or a government-issued form of identification.

– Will not stop prosecution if you engage in illegal activity.

– No impact on present or future immigration status.

– According to HB 318, community IDs and consulate IDs cannot be accepted by a judge, clerk, magistrate or “government official.”

LAC ID Requirements:

All participants must:

Attend the ID orientation and be cooperative throughout the process.
Sign the agreement form and intake sheet (clear and correct spelling).
Submit a self-addressed envelope (in the middle!)
Present a photo ID (such as passport, foreign national ID card, consular registration, driver’s license…)
Submit proof of address (such as utility bill, bank statement, lease agreement, medical records.

These documents must be originals, not copies. There may be some limited flexibility on certain requirements. For more information, please contact us at info@mylac.org, 704-531-3848 or come to our headquarters at 4938 Central Ave. Suite 101 Charlotte, NC 28205.