Top Republican Louisiana officials took aim Wednesday at a New Orleans program to distribute identification cards to homeless people, immigrants and others who don't have IDs, with Gov. Jeff Landry calling it "the stupidest idea I've ever seen" on social media.
"The city of New Orleans is under the state of Louisiana," Landry added in a joint statement with Attorney General Liz Murrill plus the heads of Louisiana State Police and the state's Office of Motor Vehicles. "It is not its own country."
Murrill questioned the "motive or need for these cards" and said she was concerned they could be used to "confer or infer legal immigration status or driving privileges."
In a statement, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said she was working with Murrill's office to "ensure that today’s announcement by the City of New Orleans does not negatively impact the integrity of our elections."
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill talks with the media in front of the Hale Boggs Federal Building on Poydras Street in New Orleans, Monday, May 19, 2025, after meeting with federal officials about the recent Orleans Parish Prison jail break. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
The officials were criticizing the Crescent City ID program, a pending initiative calling on residents to apply for municipal ID cards using birth certificates and passports. The cards will unlock access to city facilities and offer discounts at some local businesses.
Though they are available to all comers, supporters have said the program is geared towards homeless people, immigrants and other vulnerable populations. They tout the cards' potential for helping domestic violence and trafficking victims to access city services.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the state officials' criticisms Wednesday.
At an event Monday announcing the program, Cantrell said the cards would seek to accommodate LGBTQ+ people, too, by allowing them to select cards that list their preferred gender and name.
"Making sure that the city is as welcoming as possible, and having the ability to meet our people where they are, regardless of where they come from, regardless of who they are and who they love — that was a priority," Cantrell said at the event at Gallier Hall.
Immigration and homelessness are two issues on which Landry, a conservative Republican whose national profile has risen during his governorship, has been quick to criticize the Crescent City's solidly-Democratic leadership.
Landry as governor has intervened repeatedly in the city's handling of its homelessness crisis, busing homeless people to a state-run shelter in Gentilly ahead of the Taylor Swift concert series last fall and again before the Super Bowl in February.
Murrill sued the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office in February, arguing that a sheriff's office policy restricting cooperation with federal immigration agents violates a state ban on so-called "sanctuary" cities.
Though Landry has criticized New Orleans at times since taking office last year, political observers say he has forged working relationships with local leaders that crystallized in the run-up to the Super Bowl.
At the event announcing the new ID program, Cantrell said residents would be able to begin signing up for the cards in September.