A record number of migrants are taking their first step to becoming residents of New York City by signing up for IDNYC cards, The Post has learned.
The municipal card — part of the largest such program in the US and launched in 2015 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio — can be used as personal identification and verification to obtain local services ranging from health care and school enrollment for kids to use of the public library and for employment and some financial transactions.
The number of new IDNYC cards issued soared nearly 50% from last year to 2023: with 82,085 given out between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15, 2022, and 112,238 in the same period this year — coinciding with the wave of asylum-seekers entering the city, according to data obtained by The Post.
People can obtain the card regardless of immigration status — so that includes asylum-seekers and others who came here illegally and lack documentation.
The main Queens Public Library in Jamaica — used as one of the main processing centers for IDNYC applications by the city’s Human Resources Administration — has seen lines of migrants snake around the block in the morning waiting for its doors to open.
“There’ve been lines wrapped around the building — I’ve seen people starting getting here at 3 a.m.,” said Queens LIbrary President and CEO Dennis Walcott.
Walcott said the applicants come from a broad array of regions of the world besides Latin America, coming from as far as Africa.
“It’s an important step in life — having an ID card. We want people to get access to various services,” said Walcott, a former deputy mayor and schools chancellor under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Mayor Eric Adams’ office said helping gain access to the IDNYC card is part of his administration’s “all-hands-on-deck approach” to address the needs of the newcomers. --->READ MORE HERE
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| FAIR |
Every proposal for common-sense immigration control relies on proof of identity, both for showing status and ability to work and for receiving services. A number of states have flouted this basic principle by issuing non-REAL ID compliant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, making it more convenient to remain here illegally. However, the current surge in illegal immigrants overwhelming sanctuary cities is highlighting another way that rogue mayors have enabled large-scale fraud and abuse: municipal IDs, in particular New York City’s IDNYC program.
Not to be outdone by New York State (which issues driver’s licenses to illegal aliens but requires proof of status for non-driver ID cards), New York City has issued “IDNYC” cards since 2015. These cards, the most prominent municipal ID program in the country, were billed as a “gateway to city services”, but their real function has been making it much easier to violate immigration laws. Because of New York’s “sanctuary” status and generous social programs (the city is required by law to provide shelter to all single adults and families), IDNYC makes life easier for illegals at huge expense to taxpayers.
IDNYC’s problems begin with one of its supposed advantages: ease of access. Illegal aliens in the city are able to get an IDNYC card with just a foreign passport and lease, or a letter from a homeless shelter. As local media gleefully reports, the IDNYC card then allows these arrivals to open bank accounts and cash checks they receive from working illegally without even pretending to have valid asylum claims. This cheerful coverage hides a grim reality: city governments funded by American taxpayers making it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to profit from ignoring American labor laws. As our media and government pretend unlawful, unregulated work is acceptable or even good, economic migrants are noticing and taking advantage.
IDNYC also puts illegals in direct competition with citizens for scarce housing and education funding. The city’s housing market is booming, with severe shortages of available units for needy citizens as inflation makes rents more and more expensive. However, having an IDNYC card lets illegal aliens apply for the Housing Connect affordable housing lottery and Section 8, among many other social programs. IDNYC effectively puts an economic migrant straight off a bus from the border on the same footing as native residents in their housing search, an insult to New Yorkers in the middle of a housing crisis. --->READ MORE HERE
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