The NYC Council’s woke majority handed laws this week making it easier for unlawful migrants to attain already-easy-to-get, city-issued residency ID playing cards without spending a dime advantages — in a transfer one critic slammed as “legislating against [President] Trump.”
Brooklyn Democratic socialist Shahana Hanif’s invoice requires the Division of Social Companies to make IDNYC photo-ID playing cards extra accessible, together with permitting walk-in appointments at designated facilities in every borough and implementing an attraction course of for uncommon circumstances the place candidates are denied.
The Council voted 39-7 in favor of the measure Wednesday.
Critics slammed the invoice as nothing greater than a direct slap at Donald Trump’s ongoing crackdown on legal migrants.
“At a time of rising migrant crime and national security threats, it’s reckless — and it just seems like we’re legislating against Trump rather than doing what’s right for New Yorkers,” mentioned Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“The Access to IDNYC Act guarantees dignity for every New Yorker, especially as federal policies target our transgender, non-binary, and immigrant communities,” mentioned Hanif.
Unlawful migrants and others can present greater than 120 forms of IDs, together with expired overseas passports and driver’s licenses, or different papers to acquire an IDNYC card.
Functions are hardly ever rejected and demand is rising.
Town issued playing cards to 183,682 — or 91.4% — of 200,922 candidates in the course of the fiscal 12 months ending June 30, in line with the annual Mayor’s Administration Report launched in January.
From July via October, it issued one other 64,265 playing cards, up 14% from the identical interval a 12 months earlier.
Former-Mayor Invoice de Blasio’s administration first supplied the playing cards in 2015 to assist migrants extra simply entry free healthcare in metropolis public hospitals, open financial institution accounts, signal leases and enroll at school, amongst different issues.
Greater than 2.3 million playing cards have been issued since then, information present.
The IDNYC program is “essentially government-sanctioned fraud” to “obtained taxpayer-funded benefits, ” insisted Council Minority Chief Joann Ariola (R-Queens).
“We should scrap this program and incentivize them to go through the proper, lawful process of obtaining citizenship,” mentioned Ariola.
