opposing views 02.10.2013
America’s new national identification system is coming. President Obama and a bipartisan group of senators want to enact a national identification card that would link to a database containing your name, Social Security number, and biometric information such as pictures and fingerprints. The Washington Post editorial board wants one too.
Two points are central to their argument: 1) this identification system is a necessary, effective, and appropriate way to control illegal immigration, and 2) it will be used strictly for employment purposes. Both claims lack any credibility.
But the president claims this card will be “fraud-resistant” and “tamper-resistant.” But this is nonsense. No one knows what “fraud-resistant” will mean next year, let alone next decade. In April 1998, for example, immigrants were issued “fraud-resistant” green cards that contained holograms and photos. By August 1999, fakes were already in use in Los Angeles.
We already have IDs, The Post editors write, “why would another form of ID, used for employment verification, pose such a threat?” They claim concerns about identification by “critics on both the civil-liberties left and the libertarian right” have proven “hallow.”
To believe that this card will not succumb to the same mission creep as the social security card—which began as a means to prove eligibility for a retirement benefit with all the same assurances that it would never be used for identity purposes — is downright gullible.
In fact, the very application of the Social Security card to the completely-unrelated field of immigration status checks exposes this argument for what it is: nonsense. In fact, John McCain has already said he wants the ID for national security reasons as well. The Obama administration wants one for monitoring the Internet. Others want it for voting, gun control, and much else.
Because this card would link to a database (E-Verify) and the system works better with more information on each person, the government has constantly attempted to centralize ever greater quantities of Americans’ personal information: name, address, Social Security number, employer, worksites, motor vehicle records, driving history, and much else. This constant data collection on all Americans is a threat to privacy.
Full story here
