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Secure ID card focus of hearing on immigration
Senator says it's needed for all U.S. workers; high costs pose concern


12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 20, 2006
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / The Dallas Morning News


WASHINGTON – The U.S. will not be able to effectively control illegal immigration unless American workers are required to obtain a fraud-resistant Social Security card, an Arizona senator told the Bush administration Monday.

The administration's plan to require tamper-resistant work authorization cards only for foreign temporary workers represents a glaring weakness, Republican Sen. Jon Kyl told leading Homeland Security Department officials appearing at a Senate immigration subcommittee hearing.

Although the House and Senate have approved bills that would require all employers to run workers' names and Social Security numbers through a government-run database, critics note that the system would assess only the legitimacy of the information – not whether the employee actually is who he or she purports to be.


Citing vulnerabilities

And with document fraud and identity theft rampant, Mr. Kyl said the proposed system would contain the vulnerabilities that doomed a 1986 law that sought to end illegal immigration by requiring use of ID documents but not verification of their legitimacy.

"We cannot repeat the mistake of 1986," Mr. Kyl said. "You cannot rely on the same kind of documents and expect to get a different result. There must be a government-issued document that verifies employment eligibility, or this system will not work."

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Stewart Baker acknowledged that the decision not to seek a secure ID card – opposed by civil libertarians, immigrant-rights groups and others on grounds that it would constitute a national ID – creates "gaps in the process that could be exploited."

But, he said, "At the same time, there are great costs to saying to Americans, 'You're going to have to show up and get in line for a new form of ID that's going to be issued by an agency that hasn't been in the ID-issuing business before.'

"Those are heavy costs – and not just in government funds but in the time and energy and hassle it would impose on every American," Mr. Baker said. "We want to be cautious before concluding that that's the only solution."

Americans on board?

Mr. Kyl, co-author with Texas Sen. John Cornyn of an immigration bill requiring use of a fraud-resistant Social Security card, said he believes Americans would support getting a new card.

"It seems to me the American people are perfectly willing to bear that kind of expense to get back the rule of law and end the problem of illegal immigration," he said.

The estimated 9 million illegal workers can be found through other techniques, Mr. Baker and Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Julie Myers said. These techniques include establishment of an electronic employment verification system, access to Social Security records that suggest fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, and stepped-up worksite enforcement.

Monday's hearing, convened by Mr. Cornyn, represented the only sign of movement by Congress in weeks on the highly contentious immigration issue. The House and Senate have yet to begin talks to reconcile their very different bills, with no sign that any negotiations are imminent.

E-mail mmittelstadt@dallasnews.com