New York City launches municipal identification card program
New York City has launched its municipal identification card program, the largest in the country, which officials say 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 on Monday. It is aimed at those who do not currently have a government-issued ID, including the elderly, homeless and an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the city who live in the U.S. without legal documentation.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who worked closely with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to create the program, long a liberal goal, called the card “a gateway to city services.”