USA Editorial on ID Cards

[Dave Banisar <banisar@washofc.epic.org>]

Date	7/16/94
Subject	USA Editorial on ID Cards
From	Dave Banisar
To	Dave Banisar

  USA Editorial on ID Cards
USA TODAY'S OPINION  (1)  (7/15/94)

Think the federal government already knows too much about your
private life? Hang on. The granddaddy of all privacy invasions - a
national ID card - is marching onto Capitol Hill. Startling
numbers of Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives,
are embracing variations of the identity card - all in the name of
immigration reform. They contend the cards could keep illegal
immigrants out of American jobs by requiring potential bosses to
use the cards and accompanying national data base to verify
citizenship. The cards present gargantuan potential for abuse with
enormous costs. Just ask Eddie Cortez about the possibilities. The
mayor of Pomona, Calif., was stopped and ordered to produce proof
of citizenship by U.S. Border Patrol agents more than 100 miles
from the Mexican border last summer. What did Cortez do to warrant
such suspicion? The mayor was sitting in a pickup truck, wearing
jeans and looking like a Latino. Civil rights organizations and
advocates for Asians, Hispanics and other minorities believe the
national ID cards would mushroom such incidents of harassment.

Even if true, what's the harm if law-abiding citizens have a card
to clear them on the spot? Fear of constant harassment is the
problemm. Having to carry a card to guarantee your freedom is not
what the Founding Fathers had in mind. Then there's the price tag.
Production costs plus a supporting computer data base are
estimated conservatively at $2.5 billion by the Social Security
Administration. More elaborate systems could top $6 billion or
more. Still, proponents believe the means justify the end -
closing the jobs door to illegals. Not likely, say technical
experts. Right now, on street corners in California, Texas and
other states, fake Social Security cards, passports and driver's
licenses can be had for a price. Should a national ID card go into
effect, these same counterfeiters would merely turn their talent
to producing fake IDs or to producing the fraudulent documents
necessary to obtain the national ID. National ID cards are an old
idea and a bad idea. The last thing the federal government needs
is another peephole on personal privacy that ends up costing U.S.
taxpayers more money than it saves.


OTHER VIEW  (2)

DAN STEIN is executive director of the Federation for American
Immigration Reform, Washington, D.C.: A decade-old plan to create
a counterfeit-resistant work-welfare eligibility document to help
stop illegal immigration got a boost when the Commission on
Immigration Reform hinted this week that it might recommend the
idea. This tame proposal is endorsed by Democrats and Republicans.
California's Dianne Feinstein and Pete Wilson support it. Polls by
`Time,' Roper and Field show most Americans do, too. The `Los
Angeles Times,' `San Diego Union' and `Sacramento Bee' nod
approval. Liberals such as Barbara Jordan and the Rev. Theodore
Hesburgh, who've chaired our last two major immigration
commissions - are also on board. So why the flak? Because the idea
got mislabeled as a sinister-sounding "national ID card."
Ridiculous. In a country where the average American now carries a
driver's license, credit cards, calling cards, bank cards and
leaves electronic fingerprints all over town, isn't it time to
improve the integrity of America's birth records and make the
Social Security card fraud-proof? Americans are comfortable with
today's technologies and want illegal immigration stopped. With
secure documents, we could do it. Without them, we can't. There
would be other benefits. A secure identification system would save
us money, reduce welfare fraud, voter fraud and tax cheating,
while improving delivery of vital government services and reducing
discrimination. Most compelling is the fact that illegal
immigration pressures are growing fast. You heard it here first:
These are the "good old days." Unless we take steps now to improve
our ability to tell who's here legally and who's not, we're going
to lose the nation. Because of birth-record fraud, our citizenship
is built on a foundation of sand. Americans may not notice it, but
criminals and smugglers do. Crime rings know that if you've got a
good laser printer, you can become a citizen of the USA - by
making a phony birth certificate and Social Security card. That's
all it takes to make the phony foundation for other state and
federal documents and benefits. We're taking steps to secure the
currency of the USA against fraud. Isn't it time our citizenship
is given the same protection?