"According to the proposal, everyone seeking work in the United States—citizens and immigrants — would have to obtain an ID card containing his photograph and biometric data, such as fingerprints or an iris scan. Employers would be required to verify job candidates’ identities against the biometric data embedded in the card.
This is much more invasive than a “super Social Security card.” Schumer’s proposals would create an entirely new identity document. Essentially, it would establish a national identification system, a concept long opposed by Americans across the political spectrum.
President Ronald Reagan blasted a 1981 proposal for a national worker ID card, calling it the biblical “mark of the beast.” More recently, bipartisan resistance has indefinitely stalled implementation of the Real ID Act, a 2005 law setting federal standards for state driver’s licenses that many fear would set the framework for a national ID system.
The proposal would enable increased government and corporate surveillance of our daily lives. The ID cards would contain a machine-readable zone allowing government bureaucrats and private corporations to develop electronic profiles of our everyday activities." ...more
