Rand Paul introduces National ID Card Amendment to the Senate’s Immigration Reform Bill

As was reported by The Global Dispatch last month, the “Gang of Eight” drafted bill, 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation , 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.

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In an effort to protect the privacy of American citizens,  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) today announced the introduction of the Protect Our Privacy Act as amendment to the Senate’s Immigration Reform Bill.

This amendment would prohibit the issuance of a national identification card system by prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from interpreting the immigration reform bill to permit a national identification card or system, prohibits the Federal or State government from requiring photographs or biometric information without probable cause, preventing the provision in the bill titled “Photo Tool” from allowing the government to force all citizens to provide a photo and prohibits a “biometric social security card” for citizens.

Dr. Paul noted, “A National ID card violates our right to privacy by helping to consolidate data and facilitate the government in the tracking of individuals. President Ronald Reagan opposed this idea, as did President Bill Clinton.

“They believed, as I do, that American citizens should not be forced to carry around a National Identification Card as a condition of citizenship, because the card offends any reasonable basic concept of freedom.  While identifying and documenting immigrants is necessary for proper reform, implementing a mandatory identification registry for all citizens is not.”