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New York (Wall Street Journal) – In the five years since he arrived in New York City,Irving Fryar Patriots Jersey, Walter Phillips’ Guyanese passport has been his constant companion. He is an undocumented immigrant, and the little blue book is his only means of proving his identity in day-to-day interactions.Soon, however, Mr. Phillips will be able to leave his passport at home—and become a card-carrying New Yorker.Mr. Phillips, 57 years old, is one of thousands of people who have applied for a New York City municipal ID card under a programme that started this week. The city is issuing cards to anyone who can show proof of city residency,Troy Polamalu Steelers Jersey, regardless of their citizenship status. The cards,Jerome Bettis Steelers Jersey, which can also be used as library cards, are intended to help undocumented immigrants and others access city services.For immigrants like Mr. Phillips, the card also promises a new sense of security and acceptance.“You don’t have to be like a groundhog anymore,” said Mr. Phillips, who was waiting in line Thursday to apply for a card at the Brooklyn Public Library. “You don’t have to live in a hole anymore.”By the end of Thursday, the city had received 5,Keanu Neal Falcons Jersey,229 applications for the cards, and scheduled appointments with 33,914 applicants,Patrick Chung Patriots Jersey, according to the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The city switched to an appointment system at its 12 enrollment centers after being overwhelmed by long lines of walk-in applicants in the first few days of the rollout.“There is an unbelievable amount of interest,Joe Greene Steelers Jersey,” said Nisha Agarwal,Tony Gonzalez Falcons Jersey, commissioner for immigrant affairs. She said the city has had to put in place a number of backup measures to address demand for the cards, including giving the website increased capacity. Two new enrollment centers, in Queens and Brooklyn, will open by the end of the month, she said.Many standing in line Thursday at the Brooklyn library spoke of the inconvenience and insecurity of not having a government-issued ID.“You have to be more than careful with everyone you meet, Mr. Phillips said. “You don’t even want to say, ‘good morning,’ to the police.”Fredy Cruz-Martinez,Martellus Bennett Patriots Jersey, 32, who is from Mexico, said he had been stopped by officers after a shot was fired in his Upper East Side Manhattan neighborhood. All he had was an ID issued to him by the Mexican consul. “They said it was fake and didn’t accept it.”“I was scared,” said Mr. Cruz-Martinez. “I thought they were going to take me to the precinct.”New York Police Commissioner William Bratton has said the police will accept the new cards as valid identification.A new ID card will allow Marvin Acuna to “come out of the darkness and have a place in New York,” said the 47-year-old undocumented immigrant from Costa Rica. Acuna said he looked forward to using the new ID to open a bank account.Others said they just want to be able to move freely throughout the city.It is hard to even enter many buildings in Manhattan without proper ID, said Mehmet Kondakci, a 42-year-old electrician from Turkey. “You can’t get in anywhere. You can’t go anywhere.”The new ID cards may ease the lives not only of immigrants, but also of transgender people,James Harrison Steelers Jersey, who can have a hard time securing identification that list their preferred gender.“It’s been very difficult for me to walk around with an ID with a gender identification of male,” said Phoenix Nastasha Russell, who said she has lived as a woman since the 1980s. Her state-issued ID identifies her as a man.“I feel like I belong right now,” said Russell, after having her picture taken for her new card.