Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

IDNYC

IDNYC

  • Surveillance and the City: IDNYC’s Not-So-Smart Future

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    (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayor's Office)


    It’s hard to think that winning your legislative campaign can cause a problem, but when you combine progressive victories with the territorialism of New York politics, you can get disturbing results.

    Case in point, this past legislative session was a triumph for the immigrant rights movement across New York State. We enacted the Dream Act, securing in-state tuition for undocumented New Yorkers. We

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  • Election Commissioner’s Rant Prompts Dispute Over IDNYC and Voter ID in New York

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    Mayor de Blasio & First Lady McCray arrive to vote (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    City Council Member Joe Borelli, one of three Republicans in the 51-seat City Council, on Tuesday called for a hearing on voter fraud and said that he supports a statewide voter identification law to combat potential fraud. Borelli’s calls came after the release of a secretly-recorded video that showed a Democratic

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  • A Budget for the City of Immigrants

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    Students of an adult literacy class (photo: Make the Road New York)


    In recent years, New York City has taken major strides forward in its engagement with immigrant communities. Under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the Council as a whole, our city has adopted and invested in new initiatives to welcome and protect immigrants and embrace their tremendous economic, cultural, and political contributions.

    Now, with the 2017 budget process in final negotiations, our leaders have a key

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  • The Next Step to Helping Immigrant Families Thrive

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    Council Member Menchaca, a co-author, promotes IDNYC (photo: @IDNYC)


    In recent years, New York City has taken tremendous strides forward in supporting immigrants. Many of Mayor de Blasio's signature initiatives—particularly universal pre-kindergarten (UPK), IDNYC, and community schools—have offered vital new services to New Yorkers across the city that have been tremendously beneficial for immigrants seeking to fully integrate themselves into our society and see their families thrive.

    Now, there's another critical step that New York

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  • New Data Indicates IDNYC Popularity Among Immigrants

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    The Mayor & others flash their IDNYC (photo: Madeleine Ball)


    It has been one year since New York City launched its ambitious municipal identification program, dubbed IDNYC, and reports show that the program has been a resounding success. More than 725,000 card applications have been approved, about 10 percent of the eligible population of New Yorkers 14 years of age or older.

    One of the primary purposes of the program is to provide valid identification for undocumented immigrants living in New York City, of which there are ...

  • In New De Blasio Heath Care Plan, Limited Coverage for Undocumented Immigrants

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    Mayor de Blasio holds his IDNYC (photo: William Alatriste)


    According to a recent report from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office, there are 345,507 undocumented immigrants in New York City who do not have health insurance. The Mayor's Task Force on Immigrant Health Care Access seeks to provide coverage next year to 1,000 of those individuals.