Biden plan to give ID cards to some undocumented immigrants moving ahead
WASHINGTON (TND) — The White House is moving forward with a plan to provide temporary ID cards to some undocumented immigrants as they await a decision on their asylum cases.
It’s a program that’s been implemented at the local level for years, including in New York City. A 2015 Ad put out by the mayor's office touted the program,
In it, then-Mayor Bill DeBlasio, D-New York City, said, "IDNYC is the photo ID for all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status," he said.
The plan by the White House to give temporary federal ID cards to undocumented immigrants is moving forward, with the House budget including $10 million to help those immigrants have better access to everything from their immigration paperwork to health care, housing and transportation.
New York had also hoped to expand access to allow about 800,000 thousand non-citizens to vote in local elections, but that law was recently struck down, though similar proposals exist in other cities.
In a January 2022 interview on CNN's State of the Union, Mayor Eric Adams, D-New York City, spoke out in support.
I think it’s imperative that people who are in a local municipality have the right to decide who’s going to govern them," he said.
For the Biden administration, giving IDs is about getting people in the system, where they can be easier to reach, and also work and live out of the shadows.
But critics worry it will incentivize more people to try to come to the country illegally.
It sends the message that this is OK. The federal government is basically blessing their illegal immigration.," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the right-leaning Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
In an interview Monday, he wanted that the ID card proposal violates federal law which requires immigrants to be detained while awaiting immigration proceedings.
“What the admin is doing is not only not detaining people who are illegally crossing the border as required by law they’re actually giving them government documents. They’re documenting the undocumented.”
Currently, the number of illegal border crossers this fiscal year with still three months remaining is at about 1.75 million, already surpassing the total for all of last year.
