Undocumented people are excluded and marginalised by the nation state. Without valid identification, people run the risk of being locked up in detention centres without any rights, and they cannot claim a COVID-19 QR-code or bank account either. Together we can counter this exclusion by introducing a City ID card for Amsterdam. An ID card that gives the right to the city: the right to participate, to talk and to be welcome everywhere.
The Ombudsman estimates that there are currently 10,000 to 30,000 undocumented people living in Amsterdam. Large groups of undocumented people report poor access to information, care and social services. This has been exacerbated in the COVID-19 pandemic, where a QR code provides access to social life and is not readily available to undocumented people because they cannot obtain a BSN.
This can be changed by introducing a City ID Card that gives access to the city to ALL Amsterdam residents. It must become self-evident that everyone who lives and works here in Amsterdam has the same rights as any other citizen with papers.
In many cities all over the USA a city ID Card has been introduced in the past decade. What can we learn from these American cities, like San Francisco and New York? How did this introduction affect the people living in the city, and especially what changed for undocumented people?
Programme background & reason:
For the past year, we have been working with a broad coalition on plans to make this a reality. During the Week Against Racism, we offer our recommendations to the freshly elected representatives of the city.
We will talk to San Francisco where the City ID is widely supported by companies, NGOs, residents of the city.
Background Amsterdam City Rights:
Amsterdam City Rights is a team of undocumented and documented Amsterdammers. We want to make the city fully accessible for all Amsterdammers, including the undocumented.
Human rights for all!
