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NYPD Commissioner Bratton Has 'Concerns' About City's Municipal ID Plan

 NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said he had concerns over the city's proposal to provide undocumented resident's with a government-issued ID on April 30, 2014.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said he had concerns over the city's proposal to provide undocumented resident's with a government-issued ID on April 30, 2014.
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CIVIC CENTER — Police Commissioner Bill Bratton expressed concerns Wednesday about the city’s proposal to create municipal IDs for undocumented immigrants, in the wake of unwavering support for the plan by both Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

“Certainly, we would have concerns as to the validation processes going forward,” Bratton said after an unrelated press conference in Manhattan Wednesday. “As with all things, the devil is going to be in the details. Does it meet standards necessary to support appropriate identification as it relates to our officers? Is the person in fact the person that’s identified?"

But the commisioner said the conversations are still in the early stages, and added, "I’m not opposed to an identification card."

Bratton's comments about the ID plan are counter to the wholehearted support from Mayor de Blasio, who touted them during his inauguration speech as a way for undocumented city residents to obtain government-issued photo identification, regardless of their housing or citizenship status.

City agencies would be required to accept the identification, and city officials have said in the past they would work to push banks and other private institutions in the city to begin accepting IDs.

Bratton's comments came as the council held a hearing on the proposed legislation at City Hall on Wednesday. Mark-Viverito acknowledged that the council was having ongoing conversations with the police department over its concerns on the IDs. But she was quick to defend the proposal as “a priority for this council under my leadership.”

“Obviously with the implementation of any new ID there is going to be immediate concerns regarding the potential of fraud or any security measures,” the speaker said. “That's being heard and we're discussing it and those are being evaluated.”