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NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - A New York Supreme Court judge on Staten Island ruled on Friday that the city could proceed with destroying the personal documents used by New Yorkers to sign up for the municipal ID card, known as IDNYC. It was a victory for city officials and immigration advocates, who say that immigrant communities should not have to live in fear wondering if their information could be given to ICE officials.
A lawsuit by two Republican members of the state Assembly covers only the first two years of the program, because the documents were supposed to be destroyed by Dec. 31, 2016. As of Dec. 7, under a City Council law, the information of any new applications was immediately destroyed.
The two members of the Assembly say the documents shouldn't be destroyed. They claim it jeopardizes the safety of the people.
"The reality is that in and of itself makes us less safe. The 9/11 Commission report with the complete indication that the hijackers used government=level state and regular administered IDs for the purposes of their acts," Assembly Member Ronald Castorina Jr. told Fox 5. "And as recently as the Berlin bomber who was found with 12 to 14 different ID cards."
Betsey Plum, the director of special projects of the New York Immigration Coalition, said one has to go through an incredible process to verify one's identity to get the ID card. She pointed out that the NYPD approved the IDNYC process.
The two members of the state Assembly say they will appeal the judge's ruling. They have 10 days to do so.
More than 1 million New Yorkers have the IDNYC.