Two very different articles touching on the subjects of biometrics, ID and people illegally residing in the US have been published over the last couple of days.
One is an opinion piece by Bryan Tolar, President of the Georgia Agribusiness Council appearing in the Tifton (Ga.) Gazette.
Guest workers: A workable system is needed
Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for a workable guest worker program. He discussed Georgia’s immigration situation and spoke in favor of a program that works for Georgia’s citizens and non-citizens alike. He mentioned that his agency carries out many tasks delegated to them by the federal government, so why not allow Georgians to manage a guest worker program to fit the needs of Georgia.
The other article is from the Dayton (Oh.) Daily News discussing the proposed issuance of identification cards to residents with no other form of ID, without regard to immigration status. Though the issue is being discussed for Dayton, Ohio, the article is sourced from cities (New Haven, Connecticut and San Francisco, California) that have experience in issuing similar ID's.
Dayton considers immigrant IDs
The need for the card surfaced in New Haven in 2005 when immigrants, lacking ID to open bank accounts, were routinely profiled for theft on payday. Junta for Progressive Action Inc. — a nonprofit serving low-income immigrant communities in New Haven — called on students at Yale University Law School to verify whether the city could legally issue the cards.
So, we have two very different groups, with two very different interests, facing very different challenges. Both sets of challenges, however, flow from an underlying failure of identity management.
Georgia agribusiness and city governments are both attempting to confront problems arising from a lack of legitimate ID,
an issue we have addressed many times. Agribusiness wants a more certain, affordable and predictable labor market. The city governments want less crime involving people without ID.
It is Interesting to note, though it won't surprise frequent readers of this blog, that both see that biometrics are useful tool in administering the type of ID management system that will advance their higher order goals.
This program would require those in the country illegally to pay a fine for breaking the law. It would give them a biometric identification card that would allow the state of Georgia to track their whereabouts and keep up with their employer. It would make them go back to their home country periodically – they would truly be guest workers. Commissioner Black’s comments were clear that these foreign workers would not receive amnesty and they would not be on a path to US citizenship. It is a solution that has merit on all sides, as it would incentivize illegal immigrants to come forward, pay their fine, get an identification card, and work in our country for a set period of time safely and legally [emphasis mine].
and
After the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation to issue city ID cards in 2007, it fell to Karen Hong Yee, director of the Office of County Clerk, to design a system with built-in safety features to shield against fraud and counterfeiting.
“We did a lot of vetting of worst-case scenarios,” Hong Yee said. “My card is more secure than a driver’s license.”
The SF City ID Card system includes biometric facial recognition software, to ensure the same individual doesn’t apply twice under different names [emphasis mine].
Georgia farmers and San Francisco public servants agree. Biometrics make a better ID.
