The Arizona law would encourage some police in some circumstances to ask for papers, and it includes stiff penalties to discourage Arizonans from "knowingly" hiring illegal workers. - OK, that part is fine with me, it is the next part that I find worrysome -
The outline of the federal comprehensive immigration reform would have the U.S. government issue every American citizen a national biometric identity card, establish a new government database, and use an e-verify system to determine if we would be allowed to work in this country.
---- " A NATIONAL BIOMETRIC IDENTITY CARD" --- What in the HELL is a "National Biometric Identity Card"? So I read This... Dated March 18, 2010
Two U.S. senators met with President Obama on Thursday to push for a national ID card with biometric information such as a fingerprint, hand scan, or iris scan that all employers would be required to verify.
--- Verification that a person is legal to work in the United States. This data base is overseen by E-Verify, an Internet-based system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, and is used in conjunction with the Social Security Administration to verify employment eligibility in the U.S. I did a bit more research back to the original Executive Order 12989 - Written by Bill Clinton in February of 1996. It was then amended by George W. Bush - (article here) . There is a link in that article to a government web address. The actual E-Verify link to check if employees are eligible to work in the United States.
Now... I sit here, pondering as to if I should try it out and see if I can verify myself. Wondering if I will suddenly be consumed by this network. Assuming that since I have had jobs, therefore a paycheck, therefore I pay taxes, therefore the Social Security Administration has my information, and since the Social Security Administration records are used in conjunction with E-Verify, which is operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security - well, I figure the government already knows all about me. They probably know all about you too. So.... as of right now, all federal contractors and subcontractors MUST use this system - The question arises - How long before ALL employers MUST use this "employment verification system"? Here is what I found on the Department of Homeland Security's website: aside from federal employees,
E-Verify is a voluntary program for employers, with limited exceptions.
Companies can enter the information from your I-9 form and compare it to the information in the Social Security, and Homeland Security data bases. (Cross referencing Lord only knows how many other data bases within those entities.) It makes you wonder which companies are using this, or are they all already? - So back to there cards - The problem with E-Verify, is it cannot detect when whether a person is stealing the identity of another legitimate worker - here is where the "Biometric Identity Cards" come in.
Biometric Identity Cards are widely used in Europe. I then stumbled across this site. It explains that information such as fingerprints, hand geometry, palm vein authentication, retina scan, iris scan, facial recognition, signature, and voice analysis can all be stored on a strip in the card, mush like the strips in our money. All of this information is in the strip - it is also in the data base. Using facial recognition, the government could use cameras and computers to track everyone's movements without their knowledge or consent. Of course, if you lost your identification, it could be replaced very easily, in fact, you wouldn't really need it anymore because your identity could be instantly verified. Small hand-held iris scanners? Facial Recognition machines? Will these take the place of swiper machines? A veritable point and click identity scanner - neat - and scary! It all seems kind of "number of the Beast" type scenario may be playing out very soon, except the numbers we have will be digitized biometric information, each unique to each individual, and fool proof. No more Identity theft - problem solved. But what problems could it create? Is "over identifying" a person a BAD thing, or is this just next next stage of the "driver's license"?
Now... I sit here, pondering as to if I should try it out and see if I can verify myself. Wondering if I will suddenly be consumed by this network. Assuming that since I have had jobs, therefore a paycheck, therefore I pay taxes, therefore the Social Security Administration has my information, and since the Social Security Administration records are used in conjunction with E-Verify, which is operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security - well, I figure the government already knows all about me. They probably know all about you too. So.... as of right now, all federal contractors and subcontractors MUST use this system - The question arises - How long before ALL employers MUST use this "employment verification system"? Here is what I found on the Department of Homeland Security's website: aside from federal employees,
E-Verify is a voluntary program for employers, with limited exceptions.
Companies can enter the information from your I-9 form and compare it to the information in the Social Security, and Homeland Security data bases. (Cross referencing Lord only knows how many other data bases within those entities.) It makes you wonder which companies are using this, or are they all already? - So back to there cards - The problem with E-Verify, is it cannot detect when whether a person is stealing the identity of another legitimate worker - here is where the "Biometric Identity Cards" come in.
Biometric Identity Cards are widely used in Europe. I then stumbled across this site. It explains that information such as fingerprints, hand geometry, palm vein authentication, retina scan, iris scan, facial recognition, signature, and voice analysis can all be stored on a strip in the card, mush like the strips in our money. All of this information is in the strip - it is also in the data base. Using facial recognition, the government could use cameras and computers to track everyone's movements without their knowledge or consent. Of course, if you lost your identification, it could be replaced very easily, in fact, you wouldn't really need it anymore because your identity could be instantly verified. Small hand-held iris scanners? Facial Recognition machines? Will these take the place of swiper machines? A veritable point and click identity scanner - neat - and scary! It all seems kind of "number of the Beast" type scenario may be playing out very soon, except the numbers we have will be digitized biometric information, each unique to each individual, and fool proof. No more Identity theft - problem solved. But what problems could it create? Is "over identifying" a person a BAD thing, or is this just next next stage of the "driver's license"?
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