Building Responsibility, Equality, and Dignity (BREAD), an interdenominational group in Columbus, has been pushing local leaders to recognize matricula consulares, ID cards for Mexican nationals that are issued by their consulate.
Jessica Ramos, an attorney with Advocates for Legal Equality (ABLE) in Dayton, states that a number of cities across the country, including Chicago and Dayton, recognize the consular cards as official ID. According to Ms. Ramos, people can use them to enroll children in school, open a bank account, sign up for utilities or as proof of their identify if questioned by police. She also explains that since Dayton officials started accepting the cards in 2005, the number of deportations has dropped dramatically.
Columbus currently does not accept the cards for security reasons. Read more here.