Proposed Temporary Worker National ID Program Raises Concerns

By Austin B. Boques
Scripps Howard Foundation WireWASHINGTON - President Bush has endorsed a national identification process for temporary workers that uses biometric technology.The plan is part of the immigration reform bill now in a congressional conference committee. A national identification program has been contentious for some time.

The Senate bill calls for a tamper-proof system that verifies identification and electronically verifies employment eligibility. The House bill requires only that Social Security numbers be checked against a federal database.

Biometric technology involves taking precise digital measurements of the body – such as handprints, fingerprints or eye scans – and storing them in a database or a smart card, said Matt Shannon, director of physical access for Saflink Corp., which manufactures biometric ID systems.

In a televised address earlier this month, Bush called for a tamper-resistant ID card that uses technology such as digital fingerprints.

“I’ve always supported it,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who called for using such cards for undocumented workers in the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill. “If they have this tamper-proof visa, they will feel comfortable returning to the place they came from.”

The program is being scrutinized by civil liberties groups as an invasion of privacy and source of discrimination.

“We think this is a terrible idea. It’s not going to do anything to dissuade workers from getting jobs in this country. There is no such thing as a tamper-proof ID card,” said Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. “The big concern is that those employers who do follow the law and comply with the ID card will soon begin to think they have to demand an ID card from anyone who’s brown, or has a foreign accent.”

Some critics are worried that requiring ID cards for temporary workers will lead to a requirement that U.S. citizens have a national biometric ID as well. New Hampshire became the first state to pass a resolution of non-compliance with any program that would mandate a national ID program. The measure was a response to the Real ID Act of 2005, which mandates federal guidelines for state driver’s licenses.

Expanding employment eligibility verification would be costly. Kevin Jernegan, an immigration specialist at George Washington University, said that the U.S. Basic Pilot program now in use can verify a worker’s status within 24 to 48 hours.

“That efficiency will decrease if it becomes a mandatory program,” Jernegan said.

Geraldo Lourenco, 47, who emigrated to the U.S. from Brazil and lives in Glendale, Md., supports an ID card program for temporary workers.

“It will be better for the country and for the workers. I came from a country where there is a national ID system to verify who people are,” said Lourenco, who owns a small hotel. “But it depends on what kind of information about you will be stored on the ID card.”

Robert Siciliano, chief executive officer of IDTheftSecurity.com, said, “Our system of identification is fundamentally flawed. It’s based on the honor system. Every college kid in America knows someone somewhere who’s selling fake IDs.”

Siciliano’s Boston-based company specializes in personal security and identity theft consultation.

“Many people feel that the ID card is an invasion of privacy, but at this point in time, privacy is an illusion,” Siciliano said.

“I don’t feel fingerprints are an invasion of privacy. There has to be a limit, though, like preventing the use of DNA,” said Jaime Ullinger, 28, a graduate student at Ohio State University who is from Washington.

National ID cards are used in many countries outside of the U.S., including Brazil, Canada, Italy and Israel.