New York City Council Set to Vote on Municipal Identification Cards

New Haven, Connecticut, created municipal ID cards for its undocumented immigrants in 2005. New York City plans to follow its lead.

The City Council will vote on a bill this Thursday that would also provide municipal ID cards for New Yorkers, but will especially help the estimated 500,000 people living in the city illegally. 

The bill would allow those who are undocumented to have access to city services. These include opening a bank account, signing an apartment lease and seeing a doctor. 

Emily Tucker is the staff attorney for The Center for Popular Democracy, which is an immigration advocacy group. She says with the IDs, undocumented immigrants won't have to fear the NYPD anymore. In addition, she says the police department recognizes the cards as a legimiate form of identification.

In response to the ID cards, Rob Astorino, who's the Republican candidate for governor, has said that the cards threaten the city's security. But advocates say they'll increase communication between the community and law enforcement.