Will conservatives fall for national ID in immigration “reform”?
NewsMax reports,
Senators drafting a bipartisan immigration bill are considering the creation of a high-tech national identity card to be carried by all workers, whether or not they are U.S. citizens.
The biometric ID card would use fingerprints or other personal markers to establish a person’s legal eligibility to work, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a statement, the bipartisan Senate group called only for workers to prove their legal status and identities through “non-forgeable electronic means.”
The lawmakers have not yet decided on the biometric card, although five of the eight senators writing the legislation have backed the idea in the past. At least three — Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, and Democrat Charles Schumer of New York — have said they support requiring the cards but are open to other options, says the Journal. . . .
Responses from other Congressmen show the idea is being seriously considered:
Aides to several senators in the group — which also includes Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona, along with Democrats Michael Bennet of Colorado, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Robert Menendez of New Jersey — told the newspaper that the biometric card would be used only for employment verification and not as a mechanism to link other personal data or to replace driver’s licenses.
That’s right: just like the social security card was not to be used for identification, but for Social Security purposes only. How do you like your new bridge?