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Illegals driving without a license in Indiana. Who was responsible for the chaos?

The local “resident identification program” cards issued to illegal aliens are handled by the nonprofits (with city support/recognition), while formal state resident ID cards come from… pic.twitter.com/CEaNGviaNy

— Ken Colbert (@KColbertReport) August 6, 2026

Illegals driving without a license in Indiana. Who was responsible for the chaos?

The local “resident identification program” cards issued to illegal aliens are handled by the nonprofits (with city support/recognition), while formal state resident ID cards come from the BMV.

Local city-level Resident ID programs (such as South Bend’s SBID, Goshen’s GRID, Elkhart’s ERID, and Plymouth’s) are primarily administered by nonprofits rather than a single state government agency; official statewide Indiana identification cards are administered by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). These communities are harboring extensive illegal aliens. There is a reason the Resident IDs were issued.

Local “Resident Identification” or “Resident ID” card programs (sometimes called community or municipal resident IDs) are available in certain Indiana cities to residents who have difficulty obtaining traditional photo ID. They generally require proof of identity (e.g., passport, foreign ID, birth certificate, or similar from accepted lists) plus proof of residency in the specific city (e.g., utility bills, school/church/agency letters), but do not require proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status.

The cards are intended for local interactions (city services, schools, police/fire where recognized, libraries, etc.) and are explicitly not state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, REAL IDs, voter IDs, or proof of legal status. http://goshen.in.gov

La Casa de Amistad (a nonprofit in South Bend) administers or has launched/supported the programs in South Bend (SBID, started ~2017), Elkhart (ERID), Plymouth, and has been involved with others.

Applications are typically by appointment through the organization; cities have provided recognition (e.g., mayoral executive orders directing city departments to accept the cards). http://lacasadeamistad.org

For Goshen’s GRID (Goshen Resident Identification) card, it is issued by the Elkhart County Hope Network / Center for Healing & Hope (a nonprofit). The City of Goshen recognizes it via executive order for city services, but the nonprofit handles issuance, document review, and production. http://goshen.in.gov

These are not statewide programs run by any Indiana state government agency. By contrast, official Indiana state identification cards (non-driver photo IDs, including REAL ID-compliant versions) for Indiana residents of any age who do not hold a driver’s license are administered by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Applicants must visit a BMV branch with documents proving identity, lawful status in the U.S., Social Security number (or ineligibility), and Indiana residency. Fees are typically $9 (with free options in limited cases, such as for voting purposes under certain conditions). These are the standard government-issued resident IDs recognized statewide and for federal purposes when REAL http://ID-compliant.in.gov

I was particularly interested in any Evansville’s ID program to aid and abet the known illegals being subsidized by local not-for-profits and local progressive churches.

Related local nonprofits (e.g., the Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center / IWRC, Community Action Program of Evansville / CAPE, HOPE of Evansville, Catholic Charities Diocese of Evansville) provide immigrant support, housing counseling, legal referrals, and other services, but none are described as issuing or administering photo ID cards for residents, so who provided the ability to drive?

http://evvimmigrantwelcomecenter.com

Evansville’s City Council has passed non-binding resolutions supporting statewide legislation for driving privilege cards (for people who cannot meet standard BMV identity/lawful-status requirements), but that is distinct from a local resident ID program. So who provided the ability to drive?

The resolution was purely symbolic—it did not create any local program or change city policy. It simply put the City of Evansville on record supporting statewide enabling legislation. Official Indiana driver’s licenses and state ID cards continue to be issued only by the BMV under existing requirements for proof of identity and lawful status. In early 2023, the Evansville City Council unanimously passed a non-binding resolution (C-2023-3) endorsing state legislation to create driving privilege cards (also called driver cards) for undocumented Indiana residents.

http://codepublishing.com

Key details

Vote and date: The council approved it 9-0 during a Monday meeting in late February 2023 (covered in a March 1, 2023, Evansville Courier & Press report). Sponsors: Introduced by Councilors Jonathan Weaver (R-At-Large), Zac Heronemus (D-Third Ward), and Missy Mosby (D-Second Ward). Weaver was previously a Democrat, switched political parties to become a Republican, even though he still voted as a Democrat. Mosby isa no longer on the City Council to pursue a taxpayer funded $80,000 job to coordinate her love of cats and dogs, Heronemus will be exiting center stage in December 2026 after leaving two not-for-profit positions in Evansville for a position out-of-state. . The Evansville City Council aligned with the ideology to support illegal aliens ability to obtain driving cards.

Senate Bill 248 (2023 session), which would have allowed Indiana residents aka (illegal aliens) unable to prove identity and lawful U.S. status to apply for a limited driving privilege card through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The sponsor was none other than
@RepMessmer
.

What the resolution and bill aimed to do: The resolution stated that many undocumented residents already drive without adequate training, certification, or insurance. It argued that a driver card program would:

1) Require applicants to pass a written knowledge test, vision test, and driving skills test.
Enable them to legally purchase auto insurance.
Improve public safety by getting more drivers trained and insured. The reality was there were expired tags, uninsured motorists causing accidents, and illegals driving in Evansville with law abiding citizens of Evansville.

2) Promote better relations with law enforcement by reducing fear of traffic stops. Councilors described it as a practical public-safety measure. Heronemus called it a “no-brainer,” noting the goal was for everyone on the roads—documented or not—to be legal drivers with proper insurance. Mosby emphasized that it would let people “do it the legal way.” Olivia Anderson (an Evansville native then at Notre Dame and involved with the Indiana Driving Record Card Project) presented details on the bill via video during the meeting. At the time, about 19 states plus Washington, D.C., had similar laws promoting illegal aliens the ability to drive.

Multiple other Indiana cities and towns (including Bloomington, South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, and others) passed comparable supportive resolutions. A bipartisan group of mayors and groups such as the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, Insurance Institute of Indiana, and Indiana Chamber of Commerce also backed the concept.
SB 248 advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee but stalled in the Appropriations Committee and did not become law. Similar bills in later sessions also failed to pass.

The End result was illegal aliens were driving in Evansville and other Indiana cities with uninsured vehicles, expired temporary tags from the known car dealerships, leaving the scene of the accidents and receiving a wink and a nod from the local police department. The driving carnage was occuring in the cities with employers hiring the illegals. Now comes the part of accountability for the actions of the inept elected officials that permitted the infiltration of our beloved Indiana.