Worker ID card

Immigration reform legislation being pushed by Sen. Charles Schumer would require all American workers to have a biometric identification card as a step toward controlling illegal immigration. It is also a step toward a national ID card for everyone.

The plan, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, would require U.S. citizens and immigrants to have a card in order to get or hold a job. It would be embedded with a unique form of identification, such as a fingerprint or a scan of the veins in the top of the hand, so it could be misused or stolen by illegal immigrants to obtain work.

The requirement would be phased in. Current employees would be required to obtain a card when they switch jobs. At the start, it would apply to businesses or industries that rely heavily on illegal immigrants in their work force. But it would eventually reach tens of millions of Americans, including citizens and immigrants, who are holding jobs legally.

Sen. Schumer, D-N.Y., told the Journal the ID card was "the nub of solving the immigration dilemma politically speaking" by addressing concerns about continued illegal immigration after reform legislation is enacted.

The card would replace reliance on the E-Verify system that allows employers to check prospective employees' legal status against government databases. Sen. Schumer has criticized the system as ineffective. Critics also say Social Security cards can be illegally obtained and are not a reliable method of identification.

While not taking a position on the ID plan, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has raised concerns about the costs to employers and potential difficulty checking the biometrics. Sen. Schumer responded that scanners would cost employers between $700 and $800 while small businesses could have their applicants checked at a government office.

Loss of privacy is also a primary concern of those who fear the card will develop into a national identification system able to track Americans.

"We're not only talking about fingerprinting every American, treating ordinary Americans like criminals in order to work. We're also talking about a card that would quickly spread from work to voting to travel to pretty much every aspect of American life that requires identification," said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Similar proposals have failed in the past. This one should, too.