Homeland security Biometric database part of new immigration bill creates new privacy concerns
The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in America, part of creating a national identification system.
The “Gang of Eight” drafted bill, 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation (.pdf), includes language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID.
This proposed database, which was first reported by Wired, focuses on a goal a minimizing the employment of illegals, the privacy concerns are rampant across the Internet. Campaign for Liberty is already rallying supporters to battle the bill.
“It starts to change the relationship between the citizen and state, you do have to get permission to do things,” said Chris Calabrese, a congressional lobbyist with the American Civil Liberties Union. “More fundamentally, it could be the start of keeping a record of all things.”
David Bier, an analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, agrees with the ACLU’s fears.
“The most worrying aspect is that this creates a principle of permission basically to do certain activities and it can be used to restrict activities,” he said. “It’s like a national ID system without the card.”
First the social security cards, then e-Verify and the I-9 processing – now this.
[…] Homeland security Biometric database part of new immigration bill creates new privacy concerns […]
[…] was reported by The Global Dispatch last month, the “Gang of Eight” drafted bill, 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation , […]
I AM TIRED OF THIS TYPE OF STORY BECAUSE IT NURTURES IGNORANCE AND PROMOTES FEAR.
PEOPLE, THE “BOTTOM-LINE” IS WHAT THE COLONISTS CREATED DURING THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WAS SHORT-LIVED. NOW, THERE IS MORE TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THAN A FEW WILD NATIVES SMOKIN’ “WACKY-TABACKY.” THE FOOL WHO GLORIFIED THE CONCEPTS OF “melting pot” AND “NATION OF IMMIGRANTS” IS NOW, WRITHING IN PAIN BECAUSE HE NEVER THOUGHT THIS “ideal” WOULD GET “SO” OUT-OF-CONTROL.
SO, IT IS SILLY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A NATIONAL DATABASE. AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, “Caller IDs” ON TELEPHONES MEAN BEING WATCHED IS NOTHING NEW. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE BEING WATCHED, “Keep on Truckin’,” AND DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT.
CHRISTOPHER ALLEN HORTON