New York City might protect undocumented immigrants from Trump by destroying a database with their names

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 11 November 2016

A database containing personal information of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in New York City could be destroyed in order to keep it from the hands of Donald Trump and his administration, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.

The data was collected originally for New York's IDNYC cards, which serve as free and official proof of identification but can be received without a legal immigration status, CNN reports. The resulting database contains the names of cardholders as well as their addresses and dates of birth, although applicants aren't required to disclose their immigration status to get a card.

Trump has threatened to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants with a "deportation task force," although de Blasio waved off the threat. "[Trump] can change some federal laws but the Constitution protects a lot of the rights and powers of localities," de Blasio said. As an additional safeguard, the ID law allows for the database to be "destroyed" at the end of the year in case a "Tea Party Republican" won the White House, one of the law's sponsors told CNN.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox