"A supporter of the cards, Sen. Charles Schumer, is expected to introduce a worker ID card bill this fall. Immigrants rights advocates see positives to the system, but they have some worries."
By Teresa Watanabe
2:25 PM PDT, June 15, 2009
As the immigration reform debate begins to heat up again, some immigrant advocates expect that one of the biggest and most controversial new elements will be a proposed national worker identification card for all Americans
A 'forgery-proof' worker ID card, secured with biometric data such as fingerprints, is a favored idea of the new chairman of the Senate immigration subcommittee, Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y). Schumer, who will lead the effort to craft the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform legislation, has publicly espoused the card as the best way to ensure that all workers are authorized.
'The ID will make it easy for employers to avoid undocumented workers, which will allow for tough sanctions against employers who break the law, which will lead to no jobs being available for illegal immigrants, which will stop illegal immigration,' Schumer wrote in his 2007 book, 'Positively American.'
'Once Americans are convinced that we will permanently staunch the flow of illegal immigration, they will be more willing to accept constructing a path toward earned citizenship for those who are already here.'
A Schumer aide said last week that the senator would probably present the worker ID card idea at a hearing this summer on employee verification systems. Schumer previously held a hearing on border enforcement and plans to hold three more this summer -- on future immigrant flows, legalization of illegal immigrants and worker verification -- before introducing a comprehensive bill in the fall, the aide said.
The idea of a national worker ID card has been around for decades, but the ascension of Schumer to head the immigration subcommittee has elevated its chances of becoming part of any reform legislation, many immigrant advocates believe. Some predict that debate over a worker ID card would be more heated than one over legalization.
The idea of a worker ID card is embraced by some business and community organizations. But it has touched off fears of civil rights violations and 'Big Brother' intrusion into private lives among many labor activists and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. In his book, Schumer proposed requiring every American worker, both citizen and noncitizen, to apply for an identity card.
Some activists also expressed fear that any ID card proposal could divide the immigrant rights community between those opposed to its perceived dangers and those willing to accept it as part of a broad compromise that would legalize many of the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.
'The bottom line is that this would be really expensive, really invasive, and people will hate it,' said Chris Calabrese, consul for the ACLU's technology and liberty project.
Maria Elena Durazo, who heads the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, said she would not want employers to control any worker verification system because they could selectively use it to punish people pushing for labor rights or union organization. She and others also said that worker verification systems of all kinds remain vulnerable to mistakes. Immigration lawyer Peter Schey said it would be nearly impossible to monitor the nation's 26 million employers for compliance with any worker verification system. As a result, he and others argue that the best way to discourage illegal immigration is by strict enforcement of wage and hour laws, and serious penalties on employers who violate them.
For their part, business leaders say they want to be sure that they will not be saddled with high costs or liability for any new verification system.
Some business groups have opposed the idea of making mandatory the now-voluntary system known as E-Verify. The Internet-based system allows employers to check the citizenship status and work eligibility of newly hired employees. But U.S. Chamber of Commerce spokesman Angelo Amador said employers never know whether the passports, driver's licenses or Social Security cards being presented are genuine.
But anyone presenting a worker ID card would be assumed legal, subject to confirmation by swiping into a national database similar to credit cards, he said.
'It sounds like a good idea, because it takes away the burden on employers of being ID experts,' Amador said. 'We do want a system, but we just want to make sure that it's accurate and fast, and that the liability for employers is minimal.'
Brent Wilkes of the League of United Latin American Citizens said one advantage of a worker ID card is that once it is issued, employees can feel confident that they are eligible to apply for any job. Under E-Verify, newly hired employees could lose their jobs if their identities do not check out. Most activists say they are waiting for details before weighing in on worker ID cards. But some say they may ultimately have to compromise.
'At the end of the day, if we're going to achieve legalization of a major share of the undocumented, we realize there will have to be some give and take over worker verification,' said Mike Garcia, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 1877 in Los Angeles. 'We're not against it necessarily if all of the other pieces of immigration reform fall into place.'
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com"
