The feds tried it with drivers licenses. The Real ID Act wants to mandate that every state create a driver’s license so complex it would be a nightmare to administer. State after state (16 so far) is saying “no”.
Now they are doing the same thing using immigration as the justification. I mean, you want to be sure that only real Americans get work don’t you? Don’t you? Then you won’t mind if we create a new national ID to be sure. But don’t worry. It can’t hurt you … at least not any more than that old Social Security Number can. It will only be used for this one thing. And I have a bridge I want to sell you.
Check out this analysis from Caroline Fredrickson (director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington Legislative Office):
Immigration is a hot topic these days, and everyone seems to be talking about the many problems with the Senate’s immigration reform bill. Unfortunately, for some reason there has been very little talk about several of the bill’s key provisions that would undermine the civil liberties of all Americans.
For instance, Title III of the bill expands the error-plagued Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS), creating a vast federal database to verify the eligibility to work of all job applicants in America — including U.S. citizens. This expansive system would contain extraordinary amounts of personal information on everyone who seeks or holds a job, all of it keyed to a person’s Social Security number. If the immigration bill passes as written, all Americans will need to have their eligibility to work approved by the Department of Homeland Security. Invariably, DHS will confuse the files of people with similar names or use outdated or erroneous information to deny people the right to work, creating a ‘No Work List’ similar to the government’s ‘No Fly List.’ They have testified that they will need to “manually reverify” the work-eligibility of eight percent of all workers.
EEVS itself is based on the abject failure known as the Basic Pilot Verification System, used by only 16,000 of the nation’s 8.4 million employers. Technological snafus, database errors and bureaucratic bungling in that pilot project have caused, and will continue to cause, delays and financial losses to both employers and potential employees. Expanding this program nationwide will only exacerbate these problems.
Bad enough? I don’t think so.
There is another amendment from Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). If it passes, it would require every American to carry a “hardened” Social Security card containing the their personal, biometric information like their DNA or fingerprint. With this amendment you could be force to carry not one, but two, national ID cards — a Real ID compliant drivers’ license and the “hardened” Social Security card. As Fredrickson notes:
These IDs would become a key part of a system of identity papers, databases, status and identity checks and access control points — an “internal passport” that would be used to track and control law-abiding Americans’ movements and activities.
If you think it’s a bad idea, you can make a difference. Make a call. See here for info: https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=303&pg=makeACall
And don’t say I didn’t warn you.
