Thread: Bill calls for encrypted Social Security cards

San Francisco Chronicle

Bill calls for encrypted Social Security cards
Lawmaker sees proposal as a way to thwart illegal immigrants and would-be terrorists

Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Wednesday, May 4, 2005


Washington -- With Congress poised to make it virtually impossible for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses, Republican leaders are preparing another crackdown on undocumented workers -- legislation to mandate a high-tech, counterfeit-proof Social Security card that would be required to get a job.

Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas (Los Angeles County), said on the House floor Tuesday that the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin work on his proposal next week, just about the time Congress gives final approval to an $81 billion supplemental appropriation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The war appropriation includes the GOP-backed immigration measures highlighted by the "Real ID Act," which requires states to verify the legal residency status of driver's license applicants or risk having the state's licenses banned for such federal uses as boarding an airplane or cashing a check. States have objected to the proposed law, saying it would be an expensive unfunded mandate.

The requirement has a special resonance in California, where a move to allow undocumented residents to obtain driver's licenses helped bring down Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in the fall 2003 recall election. The Legislature subsequently repealed the law under pressure from Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger vetoed another licensing bill last September after failing to reach a compromise with legislators.

Dreier says the expected enactment of the license law, which has President Bush's support, provides momentum for his idea of a new Social Security card as a way to combat terrorism and crack down on illegal immigrants. Dreier, a 13-term member who chairs the House Rules Committee, was hammered by conservatives in his 2004 re-election campaign for not being sufficiently tough on illegal immigration. His margin of victory was held to 54 percent, uncomfortably low for an incumbent.

In his House comments, Dreier said he is sensitive to criticism from people who fear the federal government is moving toward creating a mandatory identification card.

"It's not a national ID card,'' he said. "It will only be required for people looking for a new job.''

His proposal also specifies that the new cards would carry the wording: "This card shall not be used for the purpose of identification.''

Social Security cards issued from 1946 to 1972 had similar wording, according to the Social Security Administration. Since the program's start in 1936, 415 million cards have been issued, with about 5.5 million new cards issued annually in recent years.

Dreier said the Real ID law and his proposal would make it harder for would-be terrorists to get government documents. "I believe we will be much better off with these provisions,'' he said.

Social Security card fraud is a consistent problem, with some undocumented workers using fake cards and numbers to help find employment. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates that fake cards can be bought for as little as $50.

Dreier's bill was developed with the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing 10,000 border agents. It estimates that cracking down on phony cards and licenses and tougher employer sanctions could cut illegal border crossings by 98 percent.

Dreier's proposal, which mirrors a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would require the Social Security Administration to replace all the current paper Social Security cards with plastic cards carrying a person's digitized photo and embedded with an "encrypted machine-readable electronic identification strip.''

When someone gets a new job, the new card would be swiped through an electronic card reader or the employer would call a toll-free Department of Homeland Security number to verify the job applicant's identity. The bill would require Homeland Security to create an employment eligibility database containing information on all noncitizens living in the country legally and eligible to work.

Employers who fail to obey the law could be fined or face prison.

Critics worry that the bill marks a continuation of what they see as an anti-immigrant trend.

"I've got my fingers crossed'' that Dreier's bill doesn't make it, said Katherine Culliton, staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Washington.

She said her group and other immigrant rights groups are "concerned and disappointed by the Real ID Act,'' which they believe "will be devastating to the Latino community.''

"These measures don't make America any safer. It's a myth that these anti- immigrant measures have identified a single terrorist since the Sept. 11 attacks. But they have led to more arrests and detentions,'' Culliton said.

Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that despite Dreier's assurances, the bill "takes us much further down the road to a national ID card.''

He also said criminals will inevitably find a way to counterfeit the proposed card. "If it has a value, sophisticated thieves and terrorists will do what they have to do and produce documents that look real,'' he added.

But Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, praised Dreier's proposal and the pending license law. "It's the only way to have meaningful employer sanctions and to control access to public services,'' he said.

Mehlman said the public shouldn't fear the prospect of getting new Social Security cards. He said many other government documents -- passports, driver's licenses and green cards for legal immigrants -- have been updated over the years to include new features to protect against counterfeiting.

The House-passed license provision was not included in the Senate's version of the war spending bill. Senators said they preferred to work on a comprehensive immigration package.

But House negotiators in a House-Senate conference prevailed Tuesday and the final version of the war appropriations bill -- with the Real ID measure intact -- is scheduled Thursday for a House vote. The Senate is not in session this week, but could take up the bill next week.

E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com.

Dreier's proposal, which mirrors a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would require the Social Security Administration to replace all the current paper Social Security cards with plastic cards carrying a person's digitized photo and embedded with an "encrypted machine-readable electronic identification strip.''

Yes, then they would just go after the databases and create identities from information obtained within them.


CLOSE THE BORDERS AND STOP PUTTING BURDENS ON AMERICANS THAT WE ARE LEGAL CITIZENS.