New York City ID card plan passes in council vote

Source: AP

NEW YORK (AP) — New York will offer identification cards to residents regardless of their immigration statuses under a plan lawmakers passed Thursday and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign to create the nation's biggest municipal ID program.

The card is intended to provide a form of government identification to help immigrants and others who may not be able to get it elsewhere, though advocates also aim to make it a point of New Yorker pride.

"The message is that the city belongs to everyone, regardless of who you are," Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said before the heavily Democratic council passed the measure 43-3.

De Blasio, a Democrat, said in a statement that his administration was ready to move ahead with a plan that "provides New Yorkers who are currently living in the shadows with dignity and peace of mind."

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/new-york-city-id-card-plan-passes-council-vote