It was intended to be one idea floated in a larger package of efforts announced this week to help Spanish-speaking immigrants navigate life more easily in New Haven. (See “Welcome City.”) But this one proposal — a city-issued i.d. card for illegal immigrants — provoked a quick backlash from immigrant-bashers as soon as the story made the national wires. Now City Hall’s backtracking on the idea. Click here to read Andy Bromage’s report on the controversy in the Register. And click here to read one Independent reader’s take on the politics behind the initiative. Lost in all this discussion: How cities like New Haven thrive when immigrants feel welcome, thrive, and contribute to the economy and culture.