New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is expressing concern over a new state policy that will allow undocumented immigrants to get New York State driver's licenses by using a foreign passport as ID. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: Governor Eliot Spitzer says the move improves public safety by bringing immigrants out of the shadows. But Bloomberg says the new rule likely conflicts with federal regulations soon to be released by the Department of Homeland Security.

BLOOMBERG: Corporation Counsel Michael Cardoza does believe that in fact this would make New York state drivers licenses ineligible to be used to get on an airplane and people would need other forms of identification.

REPORTER: The governor's office says right now, no one's license complies with the federal Real ID act. The state has not decided yet whether to opt out of the program but if it decides to comply, a spokeswoman says 2 ID's would be offered - one that meets federal regulations and one that meets state standards.

REPORTER: Some immigrant groups oppose that idea saying it creates a two-tiered system. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.