Migration of immigrants to the USA has been an issue for many years. The debate fueled by the Arizona controversy has us all looking deeply into all types of corrective measures.

The questions posed in this OP are meant to create discussion – so all opinions are worthy of sharing but please present whatever information was used and the reasoning that goes with it to support your opinions. It just makes for a better discussion.

The Arizona court ruling limited several areas of enforcement and I was particularly struck by the following:


I thought about the various forms of ID that US citizens carry and wondered why we don’t institute a National ID program. So I looked into it, beginning with various state required ID’s the most prominent being the drivers license.

The following came from USA.gov


Of course not everyone drives and state ID is not typically required, it’s more of a convenience ID replacing a DL.

So why not require a National ID of every person (over a certain age) who resides ‘legally’ in the U.S.?

There are many countries who require this but in the US the excuses not to issue national ID include:

1. Civil Rights – which is one reason Judge Bolton delayed provisions of the Arizona law which would require immigrants to carry ‘their papers’.
2. Concern over having so much sensitive personal information in a national data base that might be subject to hacking.

The way I see it – my personal ‘sensitive’ information is required for a drivers license and I have to trust that the State repository for that information is safe. But what does that say about our civil rights?

We are led to believe that driving a car is a privilege – since when do we agree that the government can control our mobility within our own country - is that not a civil rights issue? If driving a car is such a privilege why isn’t mass transportation extended into urban areas? How would we work, do our grocery shopping, or purchase a lawnmower or anything bigger than the size a couple small plastic bags?

Judge Bolton also said:


So if we ‘required law enforcement officials and agencies to determine our legitimate privilege to drive a car – would that not bring the exact same burden to citizens and other legal entities ‘because our own liberty would be restricted while our status is checked?

I’m not opposed to punishment for misbehavior, nor am I opposed to requiring drivers’ testing. But what if everyone simply chose NOT to carry their driver’s license? Or NOT to carry their proof of insurance?

As for the excuse regarding the security of a national data base – that’s not even valid considering the current technology.

A national ID program is just a hop away from the State license or ID AND it could be linked to immigration services to better enforce immigration.

I already HAVE to carry a DL - why not just incorporate DL and NID into one card (for those who want a drivers license)? And just a NID for those who do not drive or need a DL.

What do you think? Would this help with immigration enforcement? Would it be against ANYONE'S civil rights to if EVERYONE was required to carry that ID all the time? And how do you view the difference between being required to pay for, keep updated, and carry a DL at all times when immigrants are not even required to carry their legal documentation? Civil rights issues here or no?

No. We do NOT need a 'national ID' program. Drivers license. Social Security card. Credit cards. Phone numbers. Email addresses. Bank accounts. IRS forms. State government forms. You name it, they have it. A 'national ID' would just be one more thing the document forgers would create to sell the illegals and it would do NOTHING to make our borders one damned bit more secure than they are now.

not needed,,,,just use currently available resources