KCOL's "Keith and Gail" misled on requirements for New Haven ID card

Summary: Discussing a "municipal ID card" being offered by the city of New Haven, Connecticut, Fox News Radio 600 KCOL co-hosts Keith Weinman and Gail Fallen on their July 26 broadcast provided misleading information about identification requirements for the card. Weinman falsely claimed that "[t]he person filling out the form verifies it"; in fact, the city requires applicants to "present acceptable identification" to receive the card.

On the July 26 broadcast of Fox News Radio 600 KCOL's Mornings with Keith and Gail!, co-hosts Keith Weinman and Gail Fallen misrepresented identification requirements recently implemented by the city of New Haven, Connecticut, for its program that allows both illegal immigrants and legal citizens to apply for a "municipal ID card." Weinman falsely asserted that to confirm his or her identity, "[t]he person filling out the [application] form verifies" the information in the application as true. In fact, while the city of New Haven does not require proof of legal U.S. presence before it will issue the ID card, it does require documentation for proof of identification.

As the New Haven Register reported on July 5, New Haven residents "can apply for a municipal ID card starting July 24." The article further reported:

Available to citizens, as well as the burgeoning population of illegal immigrants, the card is being offered as a public safety enhancement as well as a means of integrating all residents into New Haven's civic life.

Necessary documentation is similar to requirements of financial institutions and the city hopes local banks will accept the card as a way for immigrants to open accounts to protect their earnings and make them less vulnerable to crime.

According to the article, "People still have questions about the card, however, and after fielding inquiries, the secretary of the (sic) state's office reminded officials that it cannot be used for voter registration." Instead, according to New Haven community services administrator Kica Matos, "This is a city resident card that gives you access to services -- the library, the dump, the beach, the golf course -- and it will serve as identification within the city of New Haven per se." Matos added, "The card does not confer legal rights, it does not confer citizenship, it doesn't give you any federal or state benefits ... Given the criteria for registration, clearly this card is not applicable because it doesn't give an indication of anybody's status."

The Associated Press reported on July 25 that "[d]ozens of people lined up at [New Haven's] City Hall on Tuesday for municipal identification cards, the first city-issued ID cards specifically designed to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows and give them access to community services." According to the AP:

The ID cards stand in contrast to new laws or proposals in more than 90 cities or counties around the nation prohibiting landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalizing businesses that employ them or training police to enforce immigration laws.

The city's requirements for obtaining the card do not include proof of legal U.S. presence, but they do include proof of identity. However, during their broadcast, Weinman and Fallen, along with the show's producer, misrepresented the identification requirements needed to obtain the card by suggesting that an applicant could verify identity simply by signing the application.

From the July 26 broadcast of Fox News Radio KCOL's Mornings with Keith and Gail!:

WEINMAN: Remember one of the reasons they gave for offering the [New Haven municipal identification] card that we hit on yesterday was that it would keep, it would allow people to open bank accounts; they wouldn't be carrying around large amounts of cash and there wouldn't be as many holdups on the streets. Come on.

FALLEN: Well, and through my big pharma haze yesterday morning I was able to listen to that segment, which I found very interesting. And you actually found the form online that these illegals -- oh wait, I'm sorry, the immigrants -- were to fill out in order to get one of these cards. And it asks for their last name, their first name, their middle initial, let's see what else is on there -- suffix, sex --

PRODUCER: -- address.

FALLEN: -- whether they were male or female, date of birth, residential address, yada yada yada. How do they then verify any of this information to be true?

PRODUCER: Well, they certify it at the bottom.

FALLEN: Oh, I see.

[crosstalk]

WEINMAN: The person filling out the form verifies it, saying above the signature, "I certify under penalties of false statement that I am a lawful resident of the city of New Haven."

FALLEN: Sure.

[...]

WEINMAN: If the feds aren't going to document these people, let the municipalities document them.

FALLEN: OK, but it's a question of documentation, and I'm not going to take the easy cheap shot here. But think about it. You'd have John Doe, John Doe Junior, John Doe the 3rd. How do we know who these people are simply because they come up with a name that maybe they've always liked their entire life?

PRODUCER: " 'Cause I said so." I mean, it follows that line of logic. You know, when they sort of -- "because I said so, that's how, why I am who I say I am. Because I say so."

FALLEN: Right. So --

WEINMAN: In the meantime they're all getting into the pool for free.

PRODUCER: Ew.

FALLEN: Oh, well, we've got to draw the line somewhere. I mean, they're getting in -- I mean, that is the ultimate indignation. They're getting into the swimming pool for free? Say it isn't so.

Contradicting the assertion that an applicant can simply claim, "I am who I say I am," the first page of the City of New Haven's "Office of New Haven Residents Elm City Resident Card" application form specifically states, "To obtain a resident card, the applicant must present acceptable identification." The application then lists what constitutes "acceptable identification":

3. Acceptable identification includes: EITHER ONE of the following documents: a valid Passport; U.S. Driver's License (current); Birth Certificate; (for children 12 and under only; others must also present a photo id); Consular ID Card (current); OR two of the following documents: National identification card (must have photo, name, address, date of birth and expiration date); Foreign Driver's license (current -- NOT expired); Voter registration card; Military identification card (U.S. or foreign); Visa (current); ITIN card (must be accompanied by an ID with a photograph). [emphasis in original]

Similarly, as the Register reported, "To obtain an ID card, people need to prove identify (sic) and residency by showing one of these documents: passport, U.S. driver's license, birth certificate (which is OK for children, but adults need this plus a photo ID) or consular ID card":

If those documents are not available, present two of the following to prove identification: national identification card (with photo, name, address, birth date and expiration date); current foreign driver's license; voter registration card; military identification card (American and foreign; a current visa; Individual Tax Identification Number (which must be accompanied by ID with a photo.)

—T.S.P.