National ID plan may have killed immigration bill

CNET (News.com) ^ | Published: June 28, 2007, 12:18 PM PDT | Declan McCullagh

[gondramB]

The U.S. Senate definitively rejected President George Bush's immigration bill on Thursday, just hours after senators expressed deep misgivings with portions that would have expanded the use of a national ID card.

Because the procedural vote was 46 to 53, with 60 votes needed to advance the immigration legislation, the proposal is likely to remain dead for the rest of the year.

Privacy advocates were quick to claim that a vote against Real ID cards the previous evening doomed the bill.

Wednesday's vote showed that senators were willing to delete the portion of the labyrinthine immigration bill that would require employers to demand the Real ID cards from new hires. Because some of the bill's backers had insisted that the ID requirement remain in place--as a way to identify illegal immigrants--they were no longer as willing to support the overall bill.

"The proponents of national ID in the Senate weren't getting what they wanted, so they backed away," said Jim Harper, a policy analyst at the free-market Cato Institute who opposes Real ID. "It was a landmine that blew up in their faces."

In a press release, the two Montana Democrats, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, said they were happy that a pro-privacy approach killed the bill. "If Jon and I just brought down the entire bill, that's good for Montana and the country," said Baucus, who cosponsored the amendment deleting the employer verification rule.

[gondramB]

I don't know about this analysis but its an interesting angle. I'd like to think the bill failed because the Senate developed good sense on immigration.

But I guess we take what we can get.

[dirtboy]

National ID plan may have killed immigration bill

Like hell. Amnesty killed the immigration bill.

[2ndDivisionVet]

BRAVO SIEERA! WE killed the illegal immigration bill! Now the MSM wants to spin it some other way so that we don’t realize our own strength!

Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!

U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121

U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121

White House comments: (202) 456-1111

Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep

Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Toll free to the US Senate:

1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)

Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!

[cripplecreek]

I think they want us to feel like we the people had no part in killing the bill. After all, can’t have the citizens getting all uppity and thinking they have a say in how their country is run.

[RightWhale]

The idea of implanted chips plus card ID is annoying, but enough politicians woke up in time for other reasons to rebury this zombie bill yet again.

[gondramB]

>>I think they want us to feel like we the people had no part in killing the bill. After all, can’t have the citizens getting all uppity and thinking they have a say in how their country is run.<<

Its amazing how we can have a elected government so out of touch with what the people are demanding.

[RC2]

What bothers me now is that Congress says an immigration bill won’t come alive again until after the 2008 elections. So what do they do now? I guess the same ole thing..........sit on their butts and try and figure out how to add more pork into other meaningless bills. They say they can’t enforce existing laws concerning immigration. If this is true, then we don’t need them. Close our borders now, release our border patrol officers in prison, put meaningful National Guards on the border and build that fence. I don’t care if they put a mine field on the border.............shut it down...........NOW.

[seekthetruth]

I don’t get the call for a national ID card. It is my understanding that the Social Security Administration can already detect a faulty number and notify the employer of the faulty numbers submitted. Then it is up to the employer to fire the employee right away and report him/her to immigration authorities. Thought this was in place to be done by law already, but just not enforced. Am I wrong about this??

[KarlInOhio]

So, the amnesty bill was shot down because people were concerned about privacy issues dealing with a national ID, even though to get a job you already have to show a easily forgeable national ID (SS card) plus inform the government a dozen different ways of your desire for a job (SS taxes, fed taxes, state tax, city tax, unemployment tax, worker's comp "premiums", etc. etc.)? I would be more worried about having to show an ID for everything else, but employment verification is the very last one.

I would be more concerned about the idiots in DC screwing up the database which would keep a citizen from working, but that issue was never really touched.

The reason why some wanted to remove the ID requirement was to allow new illegals (even after most get Z-visas) to continue to get jobs.

[gondramB]

>.I don’t care if they put a mine field on the border.............shut it down...........NOW.<<

How would you replace the $200 billion dollars of exports to Mexico?

[KarlInOhio]

Then it is up to the employer to fire the employee right away

Have you seen an actual letter informing the employer of the SS problem? I don't have one in front of me, but it says explicitly that you can't use the letter as a reason to fire the employee and there are penalties possible if you do.

[cripplecreek]

So what do they do now?

They make campaign promises in favor of strict border control. Personally I'm not voting for anyone who doesn't have a proven track record in that area.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I agree. But the Cato Institute is hardly left wing MSM. There may something there also. Remember, a national ID would put a crimp in the Dem’s illegals voting. The Dems are the ones that fight against voter IDs.

[djf]

PASSPORT???
We dun need no steenkin passport!!

[gondramB]

>>Have you seen an actual letter informing the employer of the SS problem? I don’t have one in front of me, but it says explicitly that you can’t use the letter as a reason to fire the employee and there are penalties possible if you do.
<<

I had no idea. What are you supposed to do.
If you keep employing them you are breaking the law.

[Dane]

But I guess we take what we can get.

Yep, no bill, but the same old, same old mess.

Yeehaw let's celebrate.

[Fawn]

NO..they want to shut down talk radio NOT the borders! Get with the program.

[KarlInOhio]

I think you are supposed to ask the employee for the correct info. Si, si, try theees one, señor.

[gondramB]

>> Yep, no bill, but the same old, same old mess.

Yeehaw let’s celebrate.<<

Yep, we needed a fix and instead got exhausted fighting off a plan to make things worse. It really sucks.

[2ndDivisionVet]

BTW, the Social Security number was never meant to be used for identification purposes. Like just about everything else from Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” it has become more and more of a monster as time goes by...