New York City Council recently passed new regulations that significantly relax the requirements for undocumented immigrants to apply for the city’s municipal ID card (IDNYC), making it easier for undocumented immigrants to obtain this official identification card and access housing, free healthcare, and other social benefits. This move has sparked strong controversy, with critics lambasting the policy for not only undermining federal immigration laws but also providing further incentives for undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States.
Under the new regulations, the city government has added 23 categories of documents that can be used to prove residency in New York City, allowing undocumented immigrants and other applicants to use expired driver’s licenses, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) documents, and some city department documents (such as housing applications) to apply for the IDNYC card. This expansion of acceptable document categories builds upon the existing list of over a hundred types of documents.
The municipal ID card IDNYC was introduced in 2015 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, with the aim of making it easier for immigrants to access free healthcare at city hospitals, open bank accounts, sign leases, and enroll in schools. Currently, all New York City residents aged 10 and above, regardless of immigration status, are eligible to apply for this ID card. To date, approximately 1.7 million people have obtained IDNYC.
Republicans and immigration control advocates strongly oppose this policy, arguing that the New York City government’s actions openly defy federal immigration laws and further attract illegal immigrants to enter the United States.
New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis criticized the idea in an interview with The Washington Post, stating that this move essentially gives undocumented immigrants a permission slip to access government agencies and services, which will only encourage more of them to come here. She emphasized that the most troubling aspect of this plan is the complete lack of any real vetting process, which cannot ensure that the documents provided by applicants are not forged. The city government may even destroy these documents, posing a significant obstacle to investigating criminal cases involving undocumented immigrants.
Steven Camarota, the research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The New York Post that this policy amounts to providing “legal cover” for undocumented immigrants, fostering illegal immigration and ultimately aiming to make life more convenient for those who are illegally staying in the United States.
Florida Republican Senator Ashley Moody harshly criticized the New York City government’s policy, deeming it “reckless and dangerous,” warning that it could put the entire city at risk.
In response, the city administration stated that background checks are conducted for all applicants, and identification cards are not issued unconditionally. Regarding data protection concerns, information about IDNYC holders will not be provided to the federal government or law enforcement agencies unless a court-issued search warrant is received.
According to a report released at the end of January by the liberal think tank Fiscal Policy Institute, there are currently around 670,000 undocumented immigrants in New York state, with the majority residing in New York City.