A new bill recently passed through the Pennsylvania House of Representatives supports inmates’ reentry into society in a compassionate and simple way. HB 1601 would make available free documentation, such as ID and Social Security cards, to newly-released inmates.

Without an ID, they can’t perform necessary tasks like opening a bank account, renting a place to live, starting a new job or setting up medical care. They must live a life on hold until their documents arrive - and they may not yet have a mailing address.

Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, sponsored the bill, which passed the lower chamber on a 102-99 party-line vote last week. The Senate should adopt the measure and send it to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.

In many cases, released inmates will require a photo ID just to properly comply with their parole programs and job requirements. But they often represent a logistical nightmare for inmates that can easily be addressed by the institutions who already hold all of their data.

With an initial cost of roughly $40 at the DMV, a new Pennsylvania ID can also be a cost burden to someone leaving long-term detention. For people who served long sentences, IDs that worked formerly may have expired.

But even if the moral argument for this bill is set aside, lowering overall recidivism is good for society and saves taxpayer dollars. The first few weeks of release are a strong indicator of long-term success for released inmates, so setting up the foundation for successful reentry is vital.

One lawmaker, Stephenie Scialabba, R-Butler, mounted a fiery yet flimsy opposition to the bill, arguing that illegal immigrants in detention might technically be able to obtain IDs and vote - demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of the state justice system.

Under U.S. law, any immigrant convicted of crimes “of moral turpitude” (a broad definition including fraud, larceny, and anything causing harm to people) will likely face deportation. According to DOJ figures from 2019, roughly 75% of federally incarcerated aliens, both lawful and unlawful, were already in some sort of removal proceedings. The rest were still in the process of determining immigration status or of adjudication.

So, in the scenario that Scialabba fears, an undocumented immigrant - a group that makes up only 1.2% of Pennsylvania’s population - would have to be arrested, become part of the 25% of incarcerated immigrants not immediately slated for removal, get enrolled in this program and released before immigration authorities catch on, receive an ID, go to the Driver's License Center, register to vote, fill out paperwork that clearly outlines a citizenship requirement, eventually receive a ballot, and then commit voter fraud.

In other words, Scialabba’s fear, and fear-mongering, is not based in reality.

People who have already paid their debt to society deserve to leave incarceration, for their sake and for society’s, with a simple tool they’ll need to unlock their new lives.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette