NYC Mayor Determined to Give Illegal Aliens ID Cards

The term “carte blanche” is a French term that translates as “white card” or “blank paper.” In English it’s used to mean “free reign” or a “blank check” – meaning that because the space is blank where the check amount normally would be, the bearer can write in any amount.

Another way of describing this is to say that for the person who has been given carte blanche, price is no object.

The concept of such a gift parallels the wrong-headed decision of New York’s newly elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, who has, for reasons that defy comprehension, decided to provide illegal aliens with identity documents even though these aliens are undocumented, meaning that they have no reliable documentation to prove who they really are. The price to be paid would be public safety.

Our immigration laws do not make any distinctions that involve race, religion or ethnicity. They were, however, written with the intent of keeping out aliens who pose a threat to the safety and well being of America and Americans. Title 8, U.S.C. § 1182 provides a list of the classes of aliens to be prevented from entering the United States.

De Blasio might well say that the “good news” is that these illegal aliens are no longer “undocumented.”

The bad news is that city officials will not be able to verify the names illegal aliens provide. “Undocumented” means that they lack official and reliable identity documents. Terrorists and criminals could easily game this program to assume false identities. It is ironic that the mayor of the city that bore the brunt of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 is enthusiastically ignoring the advice and findings of the 9/11 Commission that resulted in the enactment of the REAL ID Act.

When those who produce and sell counterfeit identity documents are arrested, officials often issue press releases noting that the arrest of such individuals protects public safety. Officials understand that selling identity documents to those who seek to conceal their true identities poses a threat to public safety and national security. Such activities can enable terrorists and criminals to assume false identities, allowing them to hide in plain sight.

The identity documents de Blasio wants to provide to illegal aliens would pose the very same threats to public safety and national security. The true identities of these illegal aliens cannot be determined. Yet paradoxically, politicians who herald the arrest of fraud document vendors may also complain bitterly about anyone who would oppose de Blasio’s proposed plan to provide illegal aliens with identity documents.

The mayor has stated that he wants to protect those “immigrants.” What he needs to explain is who he wants to protect them from. Could it be he wants to shield them from detection by law enforcement? If so, he is committing a felony under federal laws.

Under Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324, it is a felony to aid, abet, encourage or induce aliens to enter our country illegally or to conceal, harbor or shield aliens who are illegally present in the U.S. That same section of law deems anyone who makes a concerted effort to commit those crimes, by working in concert with others, guilty of conspiracy to violate the immigration laws.

Consequently, city employees who would produce and distribute those documents to illegal aliens could be considered as being engaged in such a conspiracy. However, under the Obama administration, rather than face criminal charges, the mayor will likely get a phone call from the Oval Office commending his actions.

Perhaps de Blasio has hit upon a new and novel way to combat fraud document vendors by providing a higher quality document to illegal aliens who may well have something to hide, for example, their true names and backgrounds that may identify them as being criminals or terrorists.

Mayor de Blasio’s scheme would enable illegal aliens, including dangerous international terrorists and transnational criminals, to stop “hiding in the shadows” and allow them to hide in plain sight among their potential victims. For them, these documents will provide camouflage.