Immigrants, Supporters Pour in For ID


by Melissa Bailey | July 24, 2007 3:44 PM




When City Hall opened its doors for the first members of the public to sign up for the city’s controversial new ID card, so many people showed up that the line — including many undocumented immigrants— still snaked down the hallway at closing time.

By day’s end, officials reported that 250 people signed up for their Elm City Residency Card. The office stayed open an hour later to accommodate some of the extra crowd; others were told to return on Wednesday.

Visitors signing up for the city’s new Elm City Residency Card passed through a gauntlet of protesters on the way into City Hall. The line included undocumented Mexican immigrants, like Jaime Rojas and (pictured with Ruby Diaz), who saw the card as an “opportunityâ€