– NEW YORK
South Asian activists and leaders of non-profits say the New York City Municipal Identification Card program or IDNYC, launched by Mayor Bill de Blasio Jan. 12, will lift the veil of fear hanging over tens of thousands of South Asians living in the city illegally.
It will also benefit hundreds of thousands of legal South Asian residents and citizens as they carry several benefits not available under a driver’s license. The card also equalizes the status of residents of the Big Apple and has already proved itself in cities like San Francisco, according to those involved in helping implement the program.
More than a month before the Municipal ID program was launched, non-profits like the South Asian Council for Social Services based in Flushing, was asked to participate in a pilot program. Sudha Acharya, executive director of SACSS told Desi Talk the organization took some 20 people to register for the ID to the Queens library. “It went pretty smoothly. The form is extremely simple. We are asking people who have (legitimate) papers to also enroll,” to avoid stereotyping the new cards as a tool meant to legitimize illegal aliens. “They become ‘persons’ and get a sense of personhood,” Acharya said, referring to illegal residents. “I have great hopes for it.”
During the launch, the mayor also announced that the IDNYC card will be accepted as valid primary identification for opening a bank or credit union account at more than 10 financial institutions, and revealed the card’s full suite of benefits. His Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal, is one of the main architects behind IDNYC. Among the benefits the card gives a holder are – entertainment discounts on movie tickets, Broadway shows, sporting events, theme parks, and more; a 10 percent discount off annual NYC Parks Recreation Center membership for adults age 25-61 and NYC Parks Department tennis permits; a 20 percent discount on family memberships at all 22 YMCA centers citywide; a free 30-day trial and fitness evaluation with a certified trainer at all New York Sports Club locations; a 5 percent discount off all purchases at Food Bazaar supermarkets in New York City Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; a 25 percent discount on New York Pass, a citywide pass to 83 tourist attractions in all five boroughs; and free one-year membership packages at 33 of the city’s leading cultural institutions, including museums, performing arts centers, concert halls, botanical gardens, and zoos across the five boroughs.
Suman Raghunathan, executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together said the card was an important starting point and has huge benefits for hundreds of thousands of South Asians living in the city, including the tens of thousands of undocumented South Asians who call the city their home and contribute to the economy. “But it’s not the end game. The state government has not okayed driver’s licenses for all residents,” an effort she said which fell victim to state politics in 2006. For South Asians, who Raghunathan said, feel more comfortable if they are able to prove who they are in the current charged environment between the police and minorities in the city and the post-9/11 alleged profiling. “The ID erases the distinction among New Yorkers,” Raghunathan told Desi Talk.
Community activists say they have been assured that the information given to procure the IDNYC would not be shared with law enforcement or the Homeland Security. “They have assured us they will not share the information. And the NYPD has said they will respect the ID card,” Acharya said. “We continue to be vigilant of the fact that information not be shared with DHS or ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement),” Raghunathan said. “We want to make sure the mayor’s office be responsible for that as they have said they have no plans to share the information,” she added.