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Immokalee Water and Sewer changes controversial ID policy
By Pete Bishop
IMMOKALEE
— The Immokalee Water and Sewer District is reversing a controversial
rule that required customers to provide valid U.S. or state-issued
identification before they could be connected to district services.
As of Monday, immigrants without such IDs can now obtain water and sewer
if they provide photo IDs from foreign governments.
“Our attorney has done some research and feels that it would be a
reasonable compromise,” said Eva Deyo, executive director of IWS.
Activists and lawyers representing immigrant farm workers had complained
that some families have been denied service since the district board
adopted the rule requiring IDs in October.
One of those lawyers, Maureen Kelleher of Legal Aid Service of Collier
County, was pleased with the district’s latest decision.
“I think it’s come to a resolution,” Kelleher said. “Basically, they’ve
dropped back to our position and if they train their staff properly I
think it works.”
Kelleher has been representing three families who have been living
without water and sewer.
“I told one of my clients today to go down there with his ID and to call
me if there were any problems,” she said. “He didn’t call me so I hope
it worked out satisfactorily.”
Deyo said the change comes after IWS attorney Kenneth Thompson and Legal
Aid Service attorney Joseph Klein reviewed federal regulations that
allow a photo ID from foreign countries.
A letter from Thompson to Deyo, dated April 7, suggests the district
allow applicants with passports or other photo identification from any
country to receive service.
The letter stated that the Federal Trade Commission has already approved
foreign IDs in regard to immigrants seeking to open bank accounts.
Kelleher said most immigrant farm workers in Immokalee would be able to
produce passports or other ID from their native countries.
“Anyone who comes to our country already has a passport or they can go
to Miami and get a passport,” she said. “If they don’t have it the day
they want water, they can get it, usually. There’s just a delay.”
IWS board members will discuss the policy during a board meeting next
week but Thompson’s letter stated the policy should be enacted
temporarily in the meantime.
The original rule requiring IDs was put in place in response to unpaid
water bills left by migrant workers, according to Dick Rice, an IWS
board member who voted for the regulation.
“It came to our attention basically in reference to some of the mobile
home park owners who were left with large water bills when people left,”
he said. “We wanted to work with some of the property owners on a
situation that was affecting everybody.”
But requiring only U.S. or state-issued IDs was never a conscious
intent, he said.
“We said they must provide a government ID, but we never said it had to
be an ID from the U.S. or from the state,” he said.
Allowing foreign IDs will make it more difficult to track workers who
don’t pay their bill, which could ultimately cost all IWS customers
money, said Deyo.
“It probably will be more difficult,” she said. “The only way we’ll be
able to track them down is if they come back and re-apply for service.”
Deyo said her office has been flooded with calls since last week, with
callers split between those who opposed the identification requirements
and those who supported it.
She did not know how many families had been denied service because they
could not produce U.S. or state identification.
“We started tracking that about two weeks ago and in that time didn’t
have any,” she said.
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