For years, national ID proposals have littered the halls of Congress. In the wake of September 11, proponents of these programs have worked for their adoption with renewed vigor in the name of national security. They argue that by creating a national system of identification, we can cross check information to accurately verify a person’s identity. Immigration, criminal, and financial records could all be tied to this ID allowing us to flag suspect behavior and track potential terrorists.

While the Liberty Coalition certainly supports efforts to identify and detain terrorists, we are concerned with the implications that these proposals would have on our basic freedoms. The very idea that government and potentially private businesses would have access to all this information at the push of a button compromises our privacy and threatens our liberty.

It is inevitable that once this information is centralized, its usage would expand. New instruments of discrimination based on religion, age, economic position, or national origin would be possible. Government offices would have access to this information and could easily use it to your disadvantage. In addition, private businesses would begin to use this ID and perhaps have access to the database. This would create opportunities for discrimination when being hired, renting, insuring, and borrowing. There would be nothing to stop government officials and others from misusing this information for their own purposes.

The bureaucracy that would be needed to support a national ID system would create a huge potential for error. Centralizing this data would multiply the effect of any employee mistakes or database error. People could be denied housing, employment, or even be physically detained through no fault of their own. Anyone who has tried to correct mistakes in their credit record can testify to the difficulty in dealing with overworked government agency. With a national ID, the stakes would be much higher.

In addition to questions of basic freedom, we also question the practicality and effectiveness of these proposals.

A national ID would not prevent terrorism. Criminals can and do obtain illicit birth certificates, social security cards, and driver’s licenses. There is no reason to think this would not continue with a national ID. Instead, a national ID would create a false sense of security by enabling individuals – who may in fact be terrorists – to avoid heightened security measures.

The estimated $9 billion cost of implementing a national ID program would funnel money from more effective terror fighting measures. Why spend this money on an unproven program with dangerous consequences to civil liberties when we can spend it on proven anti-terrorist methods?

Americans have heeded these concerns as shown by their consistent rejection of national ID systems – both the Nixon and Carter administrations rejected the use of social security numbers as uniform identifiers, and Congress has defeated a number of these bills. Yet, we must be wary of backdoor proposals to implement a national ID system.

The REAL ID law reflects longstanding proposals by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) that the federal government fund a standardization of state drivers’ licenses and link state driver record databases. Forcing states to include certain information on their licenses (perhaps even fingerprints or retinal scans, along with social security numbers) and then linking these records together would create a de facto national ID system. By definition, this system would include criminal record information, and it would be easy to extend this database to include other data such as credit reports and immigration records.

Because of these considerations, the Liberty Coalition firmly opposes proposals to implement a national ID system either by straightforward or roundabout methods.

In 2005, the REAL ID Act of 2005 passed, establishing national standards for drivers’ licenses and identification cards issued by the states. The Act will go into effect on May 11, 2008, at which point federal agencies cannot accept state-issued ID cards unless they meet the parameters set by the REAL ID Act.

Find out more about National ID cards:

EPIC’s page on National ID cardshttp://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/

A letter to President Bush concerning National ID cardshttp://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/presidentltr2.11.02.html

Excellent Wikipedia Summary on REAL ID Act of 2005http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act