April 15, 2007

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  NEWS: New ID/Debit Cards for New Haven Illegals

   

  New Haven, Connecticut Major John DeStefano is taking a new and very controversial approach to dealing with the city's burgeoning illegal immigrant population. DeStefano is pushing to issue combination identification/debit cards to illegal immigrants, to the outrage of citizens and the chagrin of critics. Surprisingly, advocates for illegal immigrants aren't jumping all over the plan with enthusiasm, either.
  
  Immigration activist Elise Marciano, spokesperson for U.S. Citizens for Immigration, denounced the plan loudly in an interview with a local news station. Marciano wants New Haven residents to help her put a halt to the plans, calling them unpatriotic. With the cards, Marciano claims, the mayor is trying to make it so that illegal residents can't be separated from legal, law-abiding citizens, which infronges on the rights of "real" Americans. On the other hand, advocates for illegals claim that the cards are an underhanded measure meant to make those immigrants more conspicuous. Many claim that the city is already a safe haven for illegal immigrants without the cards, and allege that local police have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on legal citizenship status in dealing with crime victims. Some say that the cards would undermine the comfortable status quo.
  
  DeStefano, for his part, claims publicly that the cards are meant to do nothing but help. His argument is that the illegal immigrants are already a part of the city's culture, so the city "may as well" engage them, and he sees the cards as a way to help. He says that several city merchants have already agreed to accept the cards.
  
  
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