New York City officials have made it easy for illegal aliens to obtain city residency ID cards, and as a result, reports say they have made it easy to get homes and free health care.
City Council members have passed a change supported by Mayor Eric Adams, who opens 23 additional types of IDs that immigrants can provide to obtain a New York City residency card.
The New York Post reported that some of the examples of identification that immigrants can offer include expired driver’s licenses. Documents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Approximately 100 other identification formats for obtaining IDNYC cards.
Former mayor Bill de Blasio administration introduced city IDs in 2015 to help immigrants access free healthcare, school registration, and open accounts at banks.
Mayor of NYC
Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived immigrant families in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The program is open to all New Yorkers over the age of 10, regardless of their immigration status.
To date, approximately 1.7 million people have obtained their ID cards. Last year, 132,054 IDs were distributed, but according to the city, the previous year was 127,859.
Not everyone thinks it’s best not to facilitate the process of obtaining a city ID. In fact, Rep. Nicole Mariotakis (RN.Y.) said it was a “bad idea.”
“To provide legal government IDs to individuals in the country illegally means to provide access to government buildings and services. [to come here]”She told the publication: “The most disturbing thing is that there is no process of securing documents provided to prove that their identity is not fake, and destroying these documents that are useful in the investigation to launch.”
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Immigrants line up outside the Immigration Re-Ticket Center at St. Brigid School on January 5, 2024, on Friday, E. 7th St. in Manhattan, New York City.
Still, city representatives said they relied heavily on the veterinarians for the background of applicants for criminal matters.
In the OP-ED featured in Harlem World Magazine, Adams highlighted the administration’s achievements on immigration.
“New York City is a city built by immigrants, and we are not only strong for diversity. That’s why we are the greatest city in the world,” he said.
From 2022, the city faced what he called an “unprecedented influx of asylum seekers,” and his administration took it head on.
“Our efforts have led to over 189,100 of the 232,600 immigrants who have requested services from cities over the past three years taking the next step in their journey to self-sufficiency,” Adams said, adding that his administration’s support added support to exiles while pursuing America’s dream.
Mayor Eric Adams says the Roosevelt Hotel immigration shelter in NYC will close soon
New York City Mayor Eric Adams will speak at a press conference in New York, outside the Gracie Mansion on Thursday, September 26th, 2024. (RashidUmarAbbasi from Fox News Digital)
Adams also emphasized that the city will purchase more than 53,000 tickets to help those seeking asylum reach “preferred destinations” and reduce the long-term costs of staying in the city for taxpayers.
Last week, Adams announced that the Roosevelt Hotel immigration shelter in Manhattan will be closed in the coming months.
The hotel, renovated into an immigration shelter with approximately 1,000 rooms, has processed more than 173,000 immigrants since May 2023. It was established as an immigration shelter in response to a wave of immigrants who began to come to the city in 2022 in search of asylum.
The Roosevelt Hotel shelter, along with the humanitarian emergency response and relief center on the site, will be closed by June, sources told the New York Post.
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Hundreds of immigrants can be seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
“We don’t care for those who care for us, but today we mark another milestone by showing the immeasurable progress we have achieved by turning the corner in unprecedented international humanitarian efforts,” Adams said in a statement last week.
This week he continued to work on the city’s efforts.
The New York City Department of Small Business Services has linked the immigrant population to hundreds of job opportunities, and other parts of his administration have continued to look for ways to support new arrivals, offering direct outreach and resource fairs as a second language course for shelters and from on-site UK.
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“Our actions have shown the whole country what we can achieve when we are involved in compassion and resourcefulness,” Adams said. “Because of the work we have done, we emerge from this crisis stronger than ever. We are all New Yorkers. Everything that affects one of us affects us all. I can remain a beacon of hope.
Mike Lee of Fox News contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to greg.wehner @fox.com and Twitter @gregwehner.
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