msmemory_archive: (photo by Eliz)
msmemory_archive ([personal profile] msmemory_archive) wrote2004-05-26 02:28 pm
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Papers, bitte

Eish. They've started checking IDs on the Green Line. Apparently, if you are innocent, you are not supposed to mind.
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[identity profile] umbran.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
What if you are from abroad and not carrying your passport with you daily, or it has expired?

My memory on this is spotty, but while I don't recall that foreign nationals are required to have their passport with them at all times, with only a few exceptions (Canadians being the first that pops to mind) they are supposed to have a currently valid passport, and have been so required for decades. As far as I recall, if they're here with an expired passport, they're inviolation of the law.

[identity profile] msmemory.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Right, they are in violation of the law if their passports expire. Are the MBTA police now going to enforce immigration laws? What if my driver's license is expired? Is it still valid ID? What if my name is Muhammad al-Zahira?

[identity profile] umbran.livejournal.com 2004-05-26 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Right, they are in violation of the law if their passports expire. Are the MBTA police now going to enforce immigration laws?

Hey, I didn't say it would be a smart or efficient way to go about things. You asked a simple question - What if you're from abroad and your passport has expired? - as if this should be some form of excuse that we should let off. It isn't. Foreign nationals who have let their documents expire aren't due any special sympathy or leniency.

If your driver's license has expired, then technically, it is not still a valid ID. That begs the real question. We shouldn't be asking, "What if there's an inconvenience associated with my ID?" We should be asking if this is legal or right at all. And that is currently being addressed by the courts. In difficult times, sometimes patience is required.

I'm terribly sorry that you feel put upon and inconvenienced by being asked by an officer to show ID. But on the scale of draconian possibilities, this is small potatoes.

Folks here tend to forget that freedom isn't easy, quick, instant gratification. Freedom is hard work and hard thinking. We are faced with threats that defy our normal systems. I'm terribly sorry that coming up with sane policy that satisfies the conflicting public needs, public wants, and public rights takes some time and trial and error.
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