SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco is delaying a controversial program that would provide identification cards to all residents regardless of legal status.

Mayor Gavin Newsom requested last month that the ID card plan – closely watched by other cities considering similar initiatives – be suspended “until a thorough review has been completed,” according to a letter sent to the city administrator.

“The mayor wants to proceed cautiously with this program to ensure that it complies with all applicable federal and state laws,” Nathan Ballard, the mayor's spokesman, said Thursday.

The plan has provoked debate over the rights of immigrants, but Newsom has said he sees it as a practical move that will make it easier for San Francisco citizens to qualify for local services and for city government workers to determine who is eligible to receive them.

The law, which was scheduled to take effect at the end of August, was modeled after a program launched in New Haven, Conn. Similar initiatives are under consideration in New York City and Miami.

Across the bay in Richmond, proponents of a similar law there say they are watching what happens in San Francisco before moving forward with a similar policy.

San Francisco's policies toward illegal immigrants have come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that a number of juvenile offenders were shielded from deportation because of the city's sanctuary policy.

Newsom reversed the juvenile offender policy in May, but said he stood by the city's vow to shelter illegal immigrants who otherwise follow the law from deportation.

Ballard said the ID card plan is part of a top-to-bottom review of San Francisco's practices to make sure they comply with all state and federal laws.

“It is the prudent thing to do apply the same level of scrutiny to our ID card program before the horse is out of the barn,” Ballard said.

The resident IDs would not enable cardholders to drive in San Francisco, and they would not stand in for a work visa or Social Security number for those seeking employment. But the IDs would qualify them for health services at city-run clinics, public library privileges and resident discounts at museums and other cultural institutions, according to the mayor.

The delay in San Francisco has angered the program's supporters.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who proposed the law, said the legality of the program was thoroughly studied before it was passed and should not be delayed. Ammiano accused Newsom, who signed the law in November, of backtracking on the issue because he is concerned it could hurt a possible 2010 gubernatorial bid.

“The perception in the community is that this is alarmist, and it's more about the mayor's ambitions to become governor,” said Ammiano, who planned to discuss the issue with the mayor.

The ID card plan is also the target of a lawsuit filed by the Washington-based Immigration Reform Law Institute, which argues that the city approved the program without accounting for the environmental impact that the influx of new immigrants would have on the city. City Attorney Dennis Herrera plans to ask a judge later this month to toss out the lawsuit.