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Hundreds of city residents lined up to get ID cards last July 24th: Photo by Chion Wolf Last July, hundreds of city residents lined up inside New Haven City Hall to apply for the Elm City Resident ID card.

For many like Marvin Guevara, they came to get the only photo ID available to them.

"Finally just to identify that I'm a resident of New Haven."

It also gives them access to city services, recreational facilities, and can be used to open up accounts at four area banks.

Guevara is one of an estimated 10-15,000 illegal immigrants living in the city. Many are from Mexico, Guatamala, and Ecuador. City officials said they hoped the ID program would help bring these residents out of the shadows.

"Actually, you feel it in the community. You do. When you go out
there, there's a difference. People are, you know, they're out there,they're more visible."

Lieutenant Luis Casanova heads the Police sub-station in Fair Haven. It's a neighborhood where many legal and illegal immigrants live. He says undocumented residents have been easy targets for robbery because they often carry large amounts of cash. Casanova says, now the ID card can help them avoid being robbed because they can use it to open bank accounts.

And, he says more people are coming to the police, because of a general order not to ask about citizenship status.

"It sends a message to the bad element that the undocumented folks are no longer going to be robbed and be assaulted and not report it."

But city officials have found it difficult to measure the success of the program, either with crime statistics or bank records. Neither the city, nor the four banks would release any information about how often the Elm City card is being used.

One bank spokesman said they rarely saw the ID. Another said they see it a few times a week to cash checks. And when WNPR took the question to the Mayor John DeStefano's office, a spokeswoman said there was no system in place to track how the ID is being used.

But several illegal immigrants living in New Haven told us how they're using the Elm City card...

On a Sunday morning, St. Rose of Lima Church is filled with immigrants living in the Fair Haven neighborhood.

Sergio, who only wanted us to use his first name, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who’s lived in New Haven for six years.

He says he wasn’t able to open a bank account with the Elm City ID alone so he found another way.

“Unfortunately I went to all the banks and no one could accept this card. I had to go to another and use my fake, a bank account with that card.”

Sergio says it has helped him, when dealing with law enforcement.

"In the matter of identifying ourselves with the police if we commit an infraction, so we don’t have to produce our paper or documents.”

Another parishioner, Amalia, agreed that it does help with police.

“Yes, because I drive. I don’t have a license. Once the police stopped me and asked for my residence card, so I took out my card, and he accepted it.”

Amalia's answer prompted us to ask the New Haven Police Department how its officers handle residents during routine traffic stops when the only identification they carry is an Elm City ID card.

Lieutenant Joseph Witkowski says residents with the city ID don't get special treatment.

"No, it's not a get out of jail free card. If they're driving without a license, it's an infraction. You get a ticket."

But this belief that the card helps illegals skirt the law is one of the reasons some local residents are trying to halt the program.

Dustin Gold of North Branford formed an anti illegal immigration group called Community Watchdog Project and recently challenged the city in front of the state Freedom of Information Commission to release cardholders' information to the public.

Many residents applied with the understanding that the city would keep their names, addresses, and photos private. The city argued that releasing this information would be a public safety risk.

Last week, the Freedom of Information Commission agreed with the city.

Gold says he'll appeal the ruling.

"I will not quit until the ID program is gone and Illegal immigration is stopped in the state of Connecticut."

While opponents of the program think illegals in New Haven have it easy, Laura Huizar of the Latino advocacy group, Junta for Progressive Action, says many in the community still have a lot of worries, including being deported.

She says that fear is ever present especially after last June's raid in Fair Haven when federal immigration agents arrested more than 30 residents just days after the ID card program was approved by city leaders.

"At least in the last year we've had people call saying they've heard that immigration agents are coming or that they've heard that someone was picked up and they call very afraid, sometimes crying and they don't want to pick up their kids from school or go to work."

This fear may be a reason why the program has slowed since the excitement of last summer. To date, only 6,400 cards have been issued in a city of 124,000 residents.

City officials say despite this, they believe the ID card is working to make all New Haven residents feel a part of a community with a long history of welcoming immigrants.