Washington politicians are once again seriously considering imposing a national
identification card - and it may well become law before the end of the 108th
Congress. The much-hailed 9/11 Commission report released in July recommends a
federal identification card and, worse, a "larger network of screening
points" inside the United States. Does this mean we are to have
"screening points" inside our country where American citizens will be
required to "show their papers" to government officials? It certainly
sounds that way!
As I have written
recently, the 9/11 Commission is nothing more than ex-government officials and
lobbyists advising current government officials that we need more government for
America to be safe. Yet it was that same government that failed so miserably on
September 11, 2001.
Congress has embraced
the 9/11 Commission report uncritically since its release in July. Now Congress
is rushing to write each 9/11 Commission recommendation into law before the
November election. In the same way Congress rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act after
the September 11 attacks to be seen "doing something," it looks like
Congress is about to make the same mistake again of rushing to pass
liberty-destroying legislation without stopping to consider the consequences.
Because it is so controversial, we may see legislation mandating a national
identification card with biometric identifiers hidden in bills implementing 9/11
Commission recommendations. We have seen this technique used in the past on
controversial measures.
A national
identification card, in whatever form it may take, will allow the federal
government to inappropriately monitor the movements and transactions of every
American. History shows that governments inevitably use the power to monitor the
actions of people in harmful ways. Claims that the government will protect the
privacy of Americans when implementing a national identification card ring
hollow. We would do well to remember what happened with the Social Security
number. It was introduced with solemn restrictions on how it could be used, but
it has become a de facto national identifier.
Those who are willing
to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system
because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken. Subjecting every
citizen to surveillance and "screening points" will actually make us
less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking
and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans!
The federal government
has no constitutional authority to require law-abiding Americans to present any
form of identification before they engage in private transactions. Instead of
forcing all Americans to prove to law enforcement that they are not terrorists,
we should be focusing our resources on measures that really will make us safer.
For starters, we should take a look at our dangerously porous and unguarded
borders. We have seen already this summer how easy it is for individuals
possibly seeking to do us harm to sneak across the border into our country. In
July, Pakistani citizen Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, who is on the federal watch
list, reportedly crossed illegally into Texas from Mexico. She was later
arrested when she tried to board a plane in New York, but she should have never
been able to cross our border in the first place!
We must take effective measures to protect ourselves from a terrorist attack. That does not mean rushing to embrace legislation that in the long run will do little to stop terrorism, but will do a great deal to undermine the very way of life we should be protecting. Just as we must not allow terrorists to threaten our lives, we must not allow government to threaten our liberties. We should reject the notion of a national identification card.