by Kandiss Edwards
August 2, 2025
The cardboard supplies entry, however some Louisiana officers are opposed.
New Orleans is creating equitable entry to identification with its Crescent Metropolis ID program.
On July 28, Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a ceremony to mark the event. At Gallier Corridor within the metropolis, the mayor expressed the intent behind the brand new Crescent Metropolis ID program, as reported by NOLA. Mayor Cantrell expressed town’s want to attach social companies and produce residents much-needed ease of entry.
“Each resident deserves to really feel seen, supported, and related. This card is a software to empower our folks and produce Metropolis companies nearer to those that want them most,” mentioned Cantrell.
The Crescent Metropolis ID program provides greater than identification for New Orleans residents. It additionally supplies entry to town’s library and reductions round city. The low cost initiative, named “Across the Crescent Metropolis,” additionally consists of precedence charges on the RTA for cardholders. The RTA low cost, part of the “Get On Board” initiative, begins September 2025.
The Metropolis of New Orleans has formally launched the Crescent Metropolis ID Program marking a “main step towards guaranteeing equitable entry to identification, metropolis companies, and neighborhood inclusion.” https://t.co/GyImXNlgNz
— WGNO-TV (ABC) New Orleans (@WGNOtv) July 30, 2025
“Past entry to metropolis companies, this system connects folks to native sources and permits them to get pleasure from their metropolis like vacationers with delight and ease,” mentioned Daisy Reyes-Cabral, program supervisor for the Crescent Metropolis ID.
There are various supporters of the playing cards. Nonetheless, Lawyer Basic Liz Murrill is talking out in opposition to the initiative. On X, Murrill said her opposition to this system. She believes the implementation is an effort to usurp the authority of the state of Louisiana. She additionally stresses that the identification could also be used nefariously.
“What’s the actual motive or want for these playing cards. It’s not arduous to get to get a Louisiana driver’s license or Louisiana ID, so I can’t see why it is a cheap or crucial expenditure of taxpayer funds. The State is the official issuing authority for state acknowledged authorities identification. I even have issues that this Metropolis ID may be used as technique of concealing an individual’s actual identification and avoiding energetic prison warrants. Any New Orleans ID does NOT confer or infer authorized immigration standing or driving privileges.”
New Orleans officers haven’t said any intent to switch a government-issued identification card. Regardless of the opposition, this system will transfer ahead. Signal-ups for the Crescent Metropolis ID start Sept. 6.
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