A Los Angeles proposal to provide photo identification to undocumented immigrants and other marginalized populations cleared a city council committee unanimously on Tuesday.

The measure proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would make cards available to any city resident for a small fee. They would include identifying information, allow access to city services such as libraries, and could be used as prepaid debit cards. During the hearing on the measure Tuesday, not a single person spoke in opposition to the measure, and those imploring its passage included not just immigrant advocates, but bankers and business owners, who would benefit from the business of the city’s estimated 4.3 million immigrants.

The proposal aims ...

Undocumented immigrants in the United States number around 12 million people, a group larger than the populations of most countries on the planet. Among those are as many as 800,000 young people who are now most likely eligible for limited legal status, thanks to executive action taken last week by President Barack Obama. In a Rose Garden speech, Obama said that he and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano were working “to mend our nation’s immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient and more just—specifically for certain young people sometimes called ‘Dreamers.’” Behind the speech was a movement for social change, built by millions, each with their own story.

The “Dreamers” are those who are here without legal documentation, often derogatively referred to as “illegals,” but who came to this country as children, in some cases as infants. As he said in his speech: “These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper.” For 10 years, people have pushed for an act of Congress to give these young people legal status, through a bill called the DREAM Act, short for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.

People in the movement don’t consider themselves “alien.” They call themselves “undocumented Americans.” One of those who stands to directly benefit from White House’s decision is ...