In 2015, New York City launched a municipal identification program with the goal of giving some of the city’s most vulnerable residents access to services that require an ID. Mayor Bill de Blasio gave the plan vocal support, saying the card represented “who we are: New Yorkers who value equality, opportunity, and diversity.”
A Trump presidency will raise new questions about the database
But now parts of the program are suddenly being questioned. As an unexpected Donald Trump term approaches, de Blasio last week suggested the city would fight to prevent the future president from accessing ID-related data, which contains personal information on undocumented immigrants.
The hurdle is one of many that cities will face as they prepare for an administration that, at least by its own account, will use every tool it has to target undocumented immigrants. In an interview aired Sunday, Trump vowed to deport millions — raising questions about where the president-elect will look for them. In some cases, such as municipal ID programs, data collected to improve the lives of immigrants may be in danger of being used for a very different purpose.
“So on something like [the ID database], I think because it touches that button directly of whether people’s personal privacy is going to be respected,” de Blasio said in a press conference. “I think that’s one where there would be a real fight.”