A small group of immigrants’ rights activists continued their push to persuade Mayor Gavin Newsom to move ahead with the city’s proposed municipal ID program with a rally outside City Hall yesterday.

About 25 people, including members of the Black Alliance For Just Immigration and La Raza, implored Newsom yet again to provide answers regarding the status of the landmark legislation that would provide undocumented immigrants and transgender residents, among others, with a city-issued identification card that would ease access to city services and bank accounts and encourage crime reporting. The SF Board of Supervisors passed the measure with little difficulty last year, and Newsom initially expressed support for the program, which was introduced by District 9 Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

But the Mayor reversed course a few months ago and halted his support after San Francisco came under increased scrutiny from the federal government regarding its status as a Sanctuary City. Newsom’s shift has both angered and confused proponents of the ID program, who say political chicanery is blocking vital access to an already-vulnerable population.

“It’s bureaucracy at its finest,” said Conte Davis, an organizer for La Raza, which helped coordinate the rally with Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (ALDI). “It’s discouraging. It’s time consuming. We have a lot more issues to deal with.”

The issuance of the IDs was set to take place in August, but it was delayed after the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a series of city practices associated with the Sanctuary City status, which states that San Francisco acts as a safe-haven for immigrants by declining to cooperate with federal immigration raids and not enforcing federal immigration laws. Specifically, city officials were shielding foreign-born juvenile felons from immigration officials. The issue was thrust into the spotlight after the triple homicide of Anthony Bologna and his two sons, Michael and Matthew, in the Excelsior District. Police have accused Edwin Ramos, an immigrant from El Salvador and suspected gang member, of the murders.

The issue has since been tied to the ID program, which advocates say is unfair.

“I think it’s politics at work,” said Daniel Luna, a legal adviser for ALDI. “I do think the decision to put it on hold had to do with that murder.”

But, he added, the targeted beneficiaries of the ID program are law-abiding people who deserve the protection and access that the IDs would afford.

In a letter to the mayor that was passed out at the rally, ALDI urged Newsom to “mitigate the impact” of his decision to halt the program and “regain the trust of city residents who trust you as their mayor.”

Davis, the La Raza organizer, said the delay is negatively affecting the immigrant, transgender and homeless communities, all of which could benefit from the IDs.

“We’re in a day now that people need credentials. You can hardly go anywhere without showing proof of who you are,” he said. “What’s the difficulty with providing people with ID? Hopefully, they get the message and it doesn’t fall on deaf ears.”

Wilson Riles, a former member of the Oakland City Council and a member of Black Alliance For Just Immigration, was on hand to show support for the immigrant community—largely consisting of Latinos and Asians at the rally—and to help establish a more cohesive unity between blacks and immigrants.

“We developed a clear understanding that there is a brotherhood” between the two communities, he said. He related the struggles of the black community in San Francisco to that of newly arrived immigrants, noting that not just foreign-born citizens would benefit from the municipal ID.

“The ID is a clear, concrete mechanism that can bring the community together,” he said. “About 90 percent of the black community has ID problems.”

He said both the black community and immigrants would no longer have to rely on costly check cashing businesses, which is the predominant practice in both communities that lack access to more established banks. And with bank accounts, he said, both communities are less likely to be targeted by would-be robbers who prey on people with large amounts of cash on their person.

“The security level in the community is enhanced with the ID,” he said, noting that the ID could assuage immigrant’s fears that their status as undocumented might be reported should they seek out city services, formal bank accounts or report crimes to the police.

“We need to struggle together for better services,” he said.