Most people don’t think about their ID unless they lose it. For millions of Americans experiencing homelessness, “losing it” is just the beginning. Identification is the golden key to everything: housing, healthcare, food assistance, employment, education, voting, and in some places, even shelter access.

No ID? You're locked out.

It’s not just inconvenient. It’s crippling.

• An estimated 55% of homeless individuals lack valid government ID

• 33 states require proof of residence to issue one

• Nearly all require payment—even if you're penniless

• Some even require a pre-existing ID to get a new one
  (Source: National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty)

It’s a perfect bureaucratic loop that keeps people stuck.

On the Left:
Progressives argue IDs should be handed out like water. That barriers are a form of discrimination. They’re not wrong—but without structure, you risk identity theft, fraud, and abuse of public programs. Good heart. Bad logistics.

On the Right:
Conservatives stress ID security and fraud prevention. Also valid—but often it’s a cover to do nothing, blaming people for “not following the rules” of a system they can’t even access. Good point. Cold heart.

Neither side is solving it.
Both are shouting past each other while real people suffer in silence.

So what’s the answer?

✅ Make IDs easier to get — not easier to fake
✅ Streamline systems while protecting against fraud
✅ Offer fingerprinting or biometrics—only if someone consents
✅ Deploy mobile ID units at shelters, food banks, and outreach sites
✅ Fund partnerships with nonprofits already solving this

We have the tools. We have the money.
What we need is the will to use them.

Fingerprinting isn’t a magic bullet—but it could be part of the solution. For people who lose documents often or fear identity theft, a single secure biometric record could save years of paperwork and rejection.

But it must be:

• Optional

• Transparent

• Used to empower—not punish

We can build trust without building surveillance.

Imagine this:

You finally gather the courage to walk into a job center or clinic. They ask for your ID. You say you don’t have one. They turn you away.

That’s not just demoralizing—it’s systemic exile.

And it happens every day in America.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about people.

• The left must accept that structure matters.

• The right must remember that people matter.

• And we all must remember: Access is not entitlement. It’s a bridge.

We don’t need to “pick a side.”
We need to build a system that works.

Despite governmental inertia, community organizations have stepped in to fill the void.

In Orlando, Florida, IDignity assists individuals in obtaining essential identification documents, helping over 2,000 people every year.
Similarly, the Homeless ID Project has helped over 17,000 individuals reclaim their identity—because without it, there is no stability, no opportunity, and no future.

Support them here:

• idignity.org

• homelessidproject.org

Better yet—start asking your city what they’re doing about it.
Because silence is complicity.