Illegal Immigrants Get IDs

August 2, 2007 -- Lines are long; more than one thousand applications have been processed in the first four days of the Elm City Resident Cards program. But why is this new ID card program so popular in New Haven, Connecticut? It offers illegal immigrants municipal identification cards, granting them access to city services such as libraries and a chance to open bank accounts.

And while other cities in the US arrest, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants, New Haven has become the new heaven for the hidden souls. They can visit recreational parks, get discounts on golf courts and not worry about carrying large sums of cash because their ELM card is their key to their new debit card.

New Haven Mayor, John De Stefano is pleased with the turnout. ""I think it has been a tremendous response of a community that is sending a very powerful signal, that they belong to this place, they want to be part of this community and they are willing to stand up in the face of potential retaliation to do that," he said.

Notimex news agency reports that about four hundred people spent the night outside the city's office last Thursday to secure a place in the line. City authorities are reminding people that there is no need for stampedes; the office is a permanent part of the City Hall.

This is the first initiative of its class in the country and is adding more heat to the already steamy immigration debate. For residents to obtain the cards, they only have to fill up a basic questionnaire, provide a picture, a proof of identity (such as a passport) and an electric or phone bill that proves residency.

New Haven has also become a member of the "sanctuary cities club", embracing a "don't ask, don't tell" mandate to prohibit police officers from asking about immigration status without criminal cause. But many residents are not pleased with all these changes, "What part of the word 'illegal' doesn't anybody understand? Now you talk to the ... people and they want to call them 'undocumented,' not 'illegal,'" said Sgt Louis Cavaliere to the New Haven Register. "They want to put a spin on it. New Haven has now become a laughingstock across the United States."