As many U.S.
cities and states arrest illegal immigrants in raids and toughen laws against
them, a Connecticut
city is offering to validate them under a controversial, first-in-the-nation ID
card program.
Starting Tuesday, New
Haven will offer illegal immigrants municipal
identification cards that allow access to city services such as libraries and a
chance to open bank accounts.
Supporters say the cards will improve public safety and give
undocumented workers protections now afforded legal residents. Critics contend
it will unleash a flood of illegal immigration, straining services and wasting
taxpayer money.
New Haven
officials overwhelmingly approved the program last month in a 25 to 1 vote.
Backers and detractors alike say the program appears to fill
a vacuum after Congress failed to act on immigration reform, leaving many towns
and cities to struggle with how to deal with a growing undocumented population.
Kica Matos, who administers the
program for New Haven,
said undocumented workers are often targeted by thieves and robbed because they
carry cash, a result of not being able to open a bank account.
"Part of the reason they can't open bank accounts is
because they don't have forms of identification that were valid," she
said.
She said two banks had already agreed to accept the new city card, which will be offered to all New Haven residents, as
legitimate identification sufficient for opening an account.
