Even for legal aliens, you'd have to depend on the word of their homeland - which may hate the U.S. and not feel like cooperating - to know that "Abdul Mohamed" really is the guy's name. And it goes without saying that illegal aliens - who often already have multiple fake IDs under different names and different Social Security numbers - would be impossible to "identify" that way. Add the reality of politics of offending ethnic lobbies (LaRaza, MALDEF) that are support groups for illegal aliens.
Their anser is "Well that's how you tell. If they don't have a (working) ID, then they are bad guys and must be detained. You just need to be sure that your unbreakable ID always works to retain your civil rights.
Let him have an earful even though he won't listen, folks: david.berlind@cnet.com