Mayor DeBlasio plans to give ID to illegal immigrants living in New York City. Hopefully it will improve security and help give illegal immigrants access to city services. But can it work? Will illegal immigrants be bold enough to sign themselves up for this ID card? What does everyone think?
Here’s a link to the article, found in today’s Latin Times:
And it turns out that DeBlasio’s idea is not a new one. It has already been tested in Trenton, New Jersey:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/nyregion/17idcard.html?pagewanted=all
-Sasha
New Haven, CT, has had the so-called Elm City ID Card for over five years as a way for undocumented immigrants to navigate municipal and banking services. The program is considered a great success. Here’s an article about the program. Of course one could argue that a program like that will be harder to pull off in a city the size of New York, but I think the New Haven experience helps to illustrate the benefits and ethical urgency of this kind of program.