City ID program draws protests, illegal immigrants

NEW HAVEN — The heated exchange between advocates and opponents was still going on when a line of people quietly started to materialize outside the entrance to City Hall Tuesday morning and down the stairs to Church Street.

Claudia, who is from Mexico, and her two young sons who were born here, was among them. Once inside, she joined 60-plus residents, many holding infants or pushing carriages, as they congregated in small groups and waited.

"I'm not afraid," she said, as the line to apply for an Elm City Municipal ID card snaked through the first floor. "This is the first step toward more opportunities," she said through an interpreter.

While dozens of protesters, mainly from nearby suburbs, walked around with signs, "No One Is Above The Law," and "The U.S. Shall Protect Each State Against Invasion," the city declared the kickoff of its controversial ID card a success, with 250 applications accepted on the first official day.

Hundreds more are expected to apply throughout the week with one advocacy group, Junta for Progressive Action, already assisting 400 people with forms.

The photo ID, with proper backup documentation, is available to all residents, including the estimated 15,000 illegal immigrants who live in New Haven. It provides access to the beach, libraries and other services, and has a debit component for use at some 50 stores and to pay parking meters.

For undocumented residents, it provides a form of identification they hope will be accepted by all banks, so they won't be the target of robberies. It appears to be the first of its kind in the nation — something several cities are looking at, including New York City.

On the picket line, Linda Hartman, 60, of Branford, was afraid the card will attract more illegal immigrants to the area. "Where are they going to live and work? I think it will create a terrible problem for New Haven County," she said.

For Hartman and fellow protesters, the emphasis was on the rule of law. "We welcome them into the United States if they come in the right way — through the door and not the window," Hartman said.

Mayor John DeStefano Jr. told supporters of the program inside City Hall that, "We need to rely on one another and ... we are best able to accomplish things in our own lives when we work on behalf of one another. This card helps us to do that by acknowledging the presence of all our residents in our community. It is motivated by the very simple fact that service to one another (is) more than waving an American flag, (it) defines the spirit of our American soul."

In 2003 when Unidad Latina en Accion and Junta asked the growing immigrant population what it needed to assimilate into civic life, the answer was an ID card. DeStefano and his administration eventually took up the cause.

"Today is a great day for New Haven, for the state of Connecticut and for United States of America," said Alderman Yusuf I. Shaw, D-23, president pro tem of the aldermanic board. Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. said identifying who is in the city "makes my job a lot easier."

The mayor dismissed worries the card will attract more immigrants. He said people move in "not for a piece of plastic, but for the opportunity to work" and the usual pattern is that people migrate where there are jobs.

From 5:30 to 9 a.m., conservative talk show host Jerry Kristafer of WELI, rallied behind Southern Connecticut Immigration Reform, a homegrown anti-immigrant group with ties to the John Birch Society, as members picketed City Hall and vowed to disrupt the ID program.

They already have sent Freedom of Information requests for the applicant list and any other material the city has on the program. But Michael Wishnie of the Yale Law School, who will represent the city, said he felt confident they can protect information, an issue that could end up in court.

Ted Pechinski, a retired carpenter, and one of several leaders of SCTIR from North Branford, feels the card is a bad idea. "I think (DeStefano) is way off his trolley. ... I cannot for the life of me understand why (illegal immigrants) aren't arrested," he said. "I think if you don't come here legally, if you don't do it the proper way, you should be rounded up and shipped back."

Later, Kristafer, who broadcast from the steps of City Hall, approached an 11-year-old and asked him why he supported the cards. When he answered that opponents "are hating on the immigrants," the radio talk show host made fun of him.

"At least if you are going to come up with a fancy expression, have it make sense," he said.

A woman behind the child said of Kristafer's response, "That was shameful. Shame on you."

There wasn't much room for discussion with each side yelling at each other and charges of "commies," and traitors" shouted by SCTIR members.

The Rev. James Manship, pastor of St. Rose Church, with a large Latino parish in Fair Haven, was asked to talk to a few people who oppose the cards.

"We don't need reform. We need the laws enforced," Bob Blank of Sherman told him. "That's what you should be propagating to your congregation."

Manship argued the immigration system is unjust and needs to be changed.

Benjamin George, 33, saw a bigger picture. "U.S. economic policy creates economic refugees throughout the world" and is one of the reasons for the huge influx of illegal immigrants here.

Kyle Bradley, 17, of West Haven, dismissed that argument as "irrelevant. What we are here for is to support the laws that are in place."

Inside, Kate Virostko, 31, rocked her son, Sam, as they waited in line. "I work at a clinic ... so I get to see a lot of the barriers to getting health care ... to getting all kinds of basic services that help you live with your family and secure your kids. Anything that makes that easier I'm really supporting," she said.

Harold H. Koh, dean of the Yale Law School, and a longtime city resident who was applying for a card, said, "People come here from all over. That's what it means to be e pluribus unum.' So what our city is doing, is right on the money."

Mary E. O'Leary can be reached at 789-5731 or moleary@nhregister.com.

©New Haven Register 2007


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