NY Daily News - June 26, 2014, by Erin Durkin - The City Council voted to create municipal ID cards Thursday, giving the city’s half a million undocumented immigrants a way to prove their identity.

The 43 to 3 vote will launch the largest local ID program in the nation - also allowing transgender, homeless, and elderly people who sometimes struggle to get driver’s licenses to secure an ID. Two members abstained from voting.

“Plain and simple, this is an ID for everyone,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “We don’t accept that some people will simply be left out because of their immigration status, how they identify their gender, or whether they may be homeless.”

The cards are expected to start being issued in late 2014 or early 2015, and will cost $8.4 million to launch over the next year and $5.6 million a year to keep running after that.

To get an ID, an applicant will have to prove their identity with documents like a birth certificate or passport from any country, and prove they live in New York through papers like utility bills and pay stubs.

The cards will be accepted by city agencies from residents seeking services, let parents enter school buildings, and give people an ID to present to police if they are stopped, which sometimes spells the difference between spending a night in jail and being released.

The city is aiming to get banks and landlords to accept the card from people trying to open bank accounts or sign leases, but private institutions will not be legally required to accept it.

Critics say the bill does not make requirements for the ID secure enough to ensure it won’t be abused.

“There are legitimate security concerns that have not been adequately addressed,” said Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island), who voted no. “There are ways we can tighten it up, and there are ways we should tighten it up.”

He added the city should “want to encourage people to come here legally.”

Others feared the cards would become a scarlet letter of sorts identifying people as undocumented.

Councilman Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn), who abstained, said he fears the cards could be used by a future anti-immigrant federal administration to mount a crackdown on the undocumented. “We are basically presenting and preparing a list of undocumented workers,” he said. “I don’t think people should be placing themselves in the position where they can be identified when they are not here legally.”

Officials say they’ll try to combat that stigma by putting benefits such as museum discounts on the card to encourage a broad group to sign up, but details of that plan have not been worked out.

Cards will include a holder’s name, picture, address, and date of birth. Applicants will get to choose whether to have the gender they self-identify with listed on the card, answering a demand from transgender advocates who say they will be able to have an ID that matches their gender identity for the first time.

Other cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New Haven currently have municipal IDs.

Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Queens) advised those with concerns about the program to “relax” and predicted the card would have broad appeal.

“We live in the coolest city in the world, and now we have a membership card,” he said. “People are going to want to be part of that club.” 

Update: Mayor de Blasio, a strong backer of municipal IDs, said in a statement:

“Every New Yorker deserves an official identification that allows them to prove who they are and access core services. I thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilmembers Daniel Dromm and Carlos Menchaca, and the entire City Council for quickly enacting this critical legislation, and all of the advocates who have worked so hard to make community voices heard. The municipal ID is more than just a card – it provides New Yorkers who are currently living in the shadows with dignity and peace of mind. My administration is fully ready to develop this plan and to swiftly implement a secure and accessible Municipal ID Card program.”

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