New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a new law Thursday creating a municipal identification card for anyone who wants access to government services, apartment rentals and bank account services, the Washington Times reported. The main takeaway, however, is that illegal immigrants have also been invited to use the new measure.
Amid a wider debate about immigrant rights, De Blasio said illegal immigrants -- there are 500,000 in New York, he estimated - should be able to have better access to a range of services in the city such as opening a bank account or getting a lease on a property. "This is about normalizing and improving people's lives," the Democratic mayor said, describing New York as "a beacon of hope and inclusion."
Available starting January 2015, the card is technically for any city resident, but applicants "will not be asked about their immigrant status," he emphasized. Touted to be free for the first year, council members and the mayor said it's really aimed at helping the city's most left-out citizens - the illegals. "Even for those who already have ID, we're going to make sure that this card brings a lot to the equation, a lot of benefits that will go with it," De Blasio said, the New York Daily News reported. "But for those who don't have ID, it's going to be crucial."
To receive an ID card, applicants must show proof of their identity and their residency in New York. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than a third of the city's 8.4 million residents were born overseas.
The new card, which was approved by the city council on June 26, will also be useful for homeless people, those just getting out of prison, as well as for transsexuals who will be allowed to choose which sex is marked, de Blasio said. However, some have emphasized the new card could be dangerous for those of questionable legal status since city authorities will be permitted by the new law to keep the documents used in the application and turn them over to the police, the New York branch of the ACLU, a civil rights group, said.
Local and federal law enforcement agencies "can request these documents without having to show probable cause. And if they are requested, the city has no obligation to even notify the person so they might be able to defend their own privacy." Despite the benefits for some, the group said, with these new cards "the city is inviting New Yorkers to gamble with the stakes as high as prosecution or even deportation," Agence France-Presse reported.
But De Blasio said the ID card was a security measure for both police and citizens. "We want all New Yorkers to feel very comfortable working with the police," he said, the New York Daily News reported. "We want them to be able to identify themselves to police and do it in an atmosphere of safety. This is going to play a crucial role in deepening the relationship between police and community, including a lot of our immigrant communities."
Municipal ID cards already exist in several big U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington. Efforts at the federal level, championed by President Barack Obama, to reform the immigration system -- and give a chance for these undocumented residents to get legal papers -- have been bogged down in Congress.
