Migrants Flood New York ID System

The number of New Yorkers, including migrants, who have been issued citywide ID cards increased this fiscal year in comparison with past years.

Ex-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio started the IDNYC program in 2015, labeled as “the largest and most successful municipal ID program in the country,” to provide free cards to all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status. All applicants 10 years of age and older qualify but must show proof of identity and residency in New York City.

The city issued 123,419 IDNYC cards between July 1, 2023 (the start of the current fiscal year), and February of this year—an increase of more than 6,000 cards compared to the 117,389 issued in the same period the previous fiscal year, according to City & State New York.

The numbers also eclipse those from the first eight months of fiscal year 2022, when 106,919 cards were issued. Approximately 95 percent of IDYNC applications were reportedly processed in a timely manner between July 2023 and February 2024.

The increase has been affiliated with demand spurred by the number of asylum-seekers.

Newsweek reached out to Mayor Eric Adams’ office and New York City’s Department of Social Services via email for confirmation of the figures and comment.

“As a result of our efforts to strengthen and expand accessibility to IDNYC for all New Yorkers, we saw a nearly 50 percent increase in new IDNYC enrollments in 2023, when compared with 2022,” City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said in December, according to the New York Post.

“This comes on the heels of the city expanding the list of eligible documentation for IDNYC to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including asylum seekers,” she added.

The IDNYC program allows cardholders to access city services and enter city buildings. Cardholders can use IDs for reasons including employment purposes (but only as proof of identity and not work authorization), receiving health benefits and checking immunization records, qualifying for affordable housing, opening a bank account at some financial institutions, and interacting with the New York Police Department.

They become eligible to receive discounts on prescription drugs, movie tickets, sporting events, health and fitness clubs, New York City attractions, and grocery stores.

Cardholders can also present IDs that can be used as library cards in the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Library Systems.

As of January 29 of this year, the city has moved to an appointment-only model and no longer accepts walk-ins. Individuals can apply via an online portal or visit enrollment centers located around the city. The city offers 35 different languages for those who don’t speak English.

On Friday, a poll conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton Strategies of 974 eligible voters in New York City about the current crime rate and relation to the influx of migrants found that over 70 percent of those surveyed blamed migrants in the city for the current crime rate.

Another 41 percent said immigration is having a “significant” impact, and 31 percent said it has a “fair amount” of impact. The poll found that 18 percent said immigration has a “small” impact, and 10 percent said it has no impact at all.

Card renewal applications are being accepted now through December 31, 2024.