Immigration bill proposes $1 billion for new Social Security card
Smart card possible? Changes to employee verification system also proposed
17 April, 2013
category: Government
The proposed immigration reform act calls for $1 billion to create and issue new Social Security cards.
The new cards would have to be “fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant, wear-resistant and identity theft-resistant social security cards.” Specific card technologies were not mentioned in the bill but there are only a handful of technologies that would fit the criteria.
If the bill passes as is the Social Security Administration’s commissioner would have 180 days to start work on issuing the new credentials. And within five-years the administration would only be issuing the new credentials. The $1 billion would in the fiscal year 2014 budget and remain available until spent.
“We need the Social Security card to be authenticated in some way to make it useful,” says Kelli Emerick, executive director of the Secure ID Coalition.
The bill also make changes to E-Verify, the system used to make sure an individual has eligibility to work in the U.S. The new system would connect to state and federal database so that employers could check driver license or passport photos against the individual applying for the job.
The new process as outlined in the bill could be problematic. “It’s very cumbersome and very unwieldy,” Emerick says. “It puts employers in the position of identity vetting instead of verifying credentials that would be issued.”
Hearings are scheduled on the immigration bill in April and could be on the floor of the Senate in June.