Biometric card idea stirs questions, doubts

Requiring all U.S. employers to verify the identity and immigration status of their workers using biometrics - such as fingerprints or iris scans -- is technically feasible but raises logistical challenges and privacy concerns, according to industry officials, immigration experts and civil liberties advocates.

Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is weighing such a requirement as he drafts a comprehensive immigration bill, which would include giving millions of undocumented workers a path to obtain status to remain in the country legally.

"Only by creating a biometric-based federal employment verification system will both employers and employees have the peace of mind that all employment relationships are both lawful and proper," Schumer said recently as he spelled out how he wanted to change immigration laws.

Schumer plans to hold a hearing this month to evaluate biometric verification ideas, with a goal of introducing comprehensive legislation by Labor Day.

His proposal has prompted more questions than answers, such as what employers and workers would be required to do, how the plan would be paid for and whether the public would support what some critics consider a national identification system.

"Is it technically feasible? I think the answer is absolutely 'yes,' from the standpoint of the technology," said Walter Hamilton, president and chairman of the International Biometric Industry Association, which represents developers, manufacturers and integrators of biometric systems.

The U.S. government already fingerprints foreigners who enter the country under the U.S.-VISIT program, and has required about 4.5 million federal workers and 1.2 million contractors to have personal identity verification cards that contain a machine-readable "smart chip" and fingerprint data, Hamilton said.

But implementing such a system would be rife with potential pitfalls.

"The cost would be unbelievable," said a lobbyist who follows homeland security issues. The lobbyist observed that Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, who is heading the Obama administration's immigration task force, is a former governor of Arizona and probably would oppose placing unfunded mandates on state or local governments.

"It's a question of the scale of hundreds of millions of people and tens of millions of workplaces. It's daunting," added a former government official who is now a lobbyist.

This lobbyist cited widespread opposition to the Real ID law, which requires states to issue their residents new, secure drivers' licenses that meet certain federal standards. While Real ID does not include a biometric component, it has been opposed due to privacy concerns and the heavy cost burden on states.

"I think that seeing the political difficulties of Real ID makes a national biometric employment system an extremely heavy lift," the lobbyist said.

The business community does not oppose creating such a system, but believes the federal government must pay for it, said Angelo Amador, executive director of immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.