New York City has launched its municipal identification card program, the largest in the US, which will allow immigrants living in the country illegally to access key city services they were previously unable to obtain.
The card, dubbed IDNYC, was approved last year and became available to New Yorkers yesterday. It is aimed at those who do not currently have an ID, including the elderly, homeless and an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the city who live in the US without legal documentation.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the card "a gateway to city services."
"It is the key to opening a bank account or getting a library card, and the ticket to many of our city's finest cultural institutions," said the mayor. "More than that, this card represents who we are: New Yorkers who value equality, opportunity and diversity."
Advocates believe having the photo-embedded cards may make immigrants otherwise lacking documentation feel more comfortable seeking help from law enforcement. They said the cards also may help the elderly, the homeless and members of the transgender community who don't have easy access or funds to get state IDs to participate in other aspects of civic life.
All New Yorkers age 14 and older are eligible, as long as they can prove their identity and city residence. Applicants without a home address may prove residency by providing a letter from a city agency, nonprofit organisation, religious institution, hospital or health clinic where their mail is received.
Bernardo Garcia, 40, said he had waited in line for more than an hour yesterday at a Bronx library to apply for his municipal ID. Garcia, who has a quality control job at a Brooklyn factory, said the ID could come in handy "for jobs, banking, insurance, for everything."
"Everybody needs ID. This is New York: a great city. A great opportunity," said Garcia, a native of Colombia who has lived in New York about 15 years.
To prevent any possible stigma that the ID is only carried by immigrants who are in the country illegally, the city has created an incentive program to entice all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, to get a card. Cardholders will be eligible for free memberships at many of the city's signature cultural institutions as well as other discounts.
