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Residents urge Johnson County supervisors to oppose state bill that would ban local community IDs
Summary
Advocates from the Immigrant Welcome Network and local residents told the Johnson County Board of Supervisors that a bill identified in testimony as HSP/HSB 552 would prevent the county from continuing its locally approved Community ID program and asked the board to push back by engaging the sheriff and the county legislative liaison.
Mazahir Saleh, executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 29 that a state bill he cited as "HSP 5 52" would prohibit local governments from issuing community ID cards and would therefore directly affect Johnson County, currently the only county in Iowa with a community ID program. "HSP 5 52 would directly prevent this county from continuing a program that was approved locally and designed to meet the local needs," Saleh said, urging the board to press state legislators and to invite the Johnson County Sheriff to testify about public-safety impacts.
Fak Mohammed, who works with the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, described the Community ID’s everyday uses, saying it helps seniors who no longer drive, people who have lost documents in fires, people experiencing homelessness and young people without access to state-issued IDs. "For many of these residents, the community ID is their only way of identifying themselves," he said, adding that the card does not replace state or federal identification and is limited in scope.
Badri Mohammed, a member of the Immigrant Welcome Network, framed the issue as one of local control and urged supervisors to ensure legislators understand why the county adopted the program. "When Johnson County adopted the community ID, it was then thoughtfully and intentionally," he said, warning that the bill would "override that local decision and remove the county’s ability to continue a program that has been worked."
Speakers urged two specific steps for the board: invite the Johnson County Sheriff to share a professional perspective with legislators on how the Community ID affects cooperation and reporting, and direct the county’s legislative liaison or lobbyist to prioritize the issue given its direct impact on the county. No formal motion on those requests was recorded during the meeting.
The public-comment period drew three speakers representing or affiliated with the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County and the Iowa Immigrant Movement for Justice; all said the legislation should not be allowed to remove a locally approved tool they described as improving public safety and access to services. The board did not take a formal vote on the requests during the Jan. 29 session; one supervisor said they would raise the matter on a UCC call the following day.
