NATIONAL
IDENTITY FILE:
OUR NATIONAL FACEBOOK
SYNOPSIS:
A National Identity File is not a national ID card
but an extremely secure and accurate computer record for each of
us,
gathering information
already included in other official records.
Strong protections will prevent unauthorized
snooping,
identity theft, & the insertion of false information.
Penalties
will be defined and enforced against anyone misusing the
National Identity Files.
These National Identify Files will be extremely
useful
for a number of valid functions of government, including:
citizenship, passports, census, taxation, employment, banking,
Social Security, child-support tracing, welfare fraud, & criminal
identification.
OUTLINE:
1.
EVERY PERSON WOULD HAVE A FILE IN THE VERY-SECURE COMPUTER SYSTEM.
2. SEVERE PENALTIES FOR MISUSE OF THE NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
3.
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
4.
EACH NATIONAL IDENTITY FILE WILL INCLUDE
ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY CONTAINED IN
SOME OFFICIAL RECORD.
5.
OFFICIAL RECORDS THAT ALREADY EXIST ABOUT US.
A. BIRTH AND NATURALIZATION RECORDS
B. PASSPORTS
C. SELECTIVE SERVICE REGISTRATION & MILITARY SERVICE
D. SCHOOL
AND COLLEGE RECORDS
E. DRIVERS' LICENSES AND VEHICLE REGISTRATION
F. PHONE BOOKS AND CITY DIRECTORIES
G. TAX RECORDS & SOCIAL SECURITY
H. VOTER REGISTRATION
I. CENSUS FACTS
J. FINGERPRINTS & CRIMINAL RECORDS
6.
PERSONS PRETENDING TO BE SOMEONE THEY ARE NOT
WILL BE DETAINED UNTIL THEIR REAL IDENTITIES
CAN BE ESTABLISHED.
7.
NOT A NATIONAL ID CARD:
LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES.
8.
SUPER SECURE AND EXTREMELY ACCURATE.
9.
THE AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION WOULD DEFINE EXACTLY
WHAT SHOULD
BE INCLUDED
ABOUT EACH OF US
AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE
CONTAINED IN OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
10. CHILD-SUPPORT TRACING AND WELFARE FRAUD.
11.
IMPACT ON UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRATION.
12. THE
COST OF THE NEW NATIONAL
IDENTITY BUREAU
AND ITS FILE FOR
EACH
PERSON.
13. HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT YOUR LOCAL POST OFFICE.
14.
DID THE NATIONAL IDENTITY BUREAU
BEGIN IN 2012?
NATIONAL
IDENTITY FILE:
OUR NATIONAL FACEBOOK
by
James Leonard Park
1. EVERY PERSON WOULD HAVE A
FILE
IN THE VERY-SECURE COMPUTER
SYSTEM.
Creating a National Identity File means gathering
basic information
about every man, woman, & child now living in the United States of
America.
(This would also include temporary files
for people from other countries who are visiting the USA.)
The first item in each National Identity File would
be a current picture of that person.
Only official information already recorded somewhere
would be included.
No additional information
would be collected.
The National Identity Bureau would merely put together in one computer
system
the basic facts about us that
are already recorded elsewhere.
2. SEVERE PENALTIES FOR
MISUSE OF
THE NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
Whenever someone suggests collecting data in a
government computer,
fears of the misuse of this
data by various people
are raised.
This is a valid worry.
We know that tax-returns are often read by people who have no
right to see them.
Celebrities are common victims of such unauthorized snooping by
employees of the IRS.
The way to prevent all forms of misuse of the
National Identity Files
is to establish and enforce strong
punishments for anyone who commits such crimes.
And if current laws are not strict enough, new data-privacy laws can be
created.
When each National Identity File is first created,
the identity of the officer
inserting the data will be recorded.
And a complete log
will begin to record
everyone who reads the
information from then on.
This will allow prosecution for false data and unauthorized users.
Of course, there will be strict controls on who is permitted read the
data.
Since no computer system is perfect,
some people will always be able to evade the security measures
to find the information they seek.
But the computer system itself will be able to trace
all who gained access to any Identity File.
And as soon as any holes in the security system are
discovered,
they will be plugged.
All persons who enter data into the National
Identity Files will also be identified
so that creators of false
identities can also be sent to prison.
What do we think about putting violators into jail
for one to ten years?
Would this threat of punishment be enough to prevent hackers?
Perhaps they believe they will never be caught.
But after a few high-profile cases appear in the news,
then others who might have been tempted to hack into the National
Identity Files
will think twice before violating the data-privacy laws.
We know that our banking system has achieved a high
level of security.
Large banks handle millions of dollars of transactions by computer
every day.
Despite constant attempts to hack into the security systems to steal
money,
only individual accounts have been compromised
when their account numbers and access codes have been stolen.
But basically the huge banking system has developed
good methods of keeping the
wrong people out
while allowing access to the
people who have a legitimate right to know.
Once a few people are actually in prison for
unauthorized snooping
or for attempting to insert false data into the National
Identity computers,
then others who were tempted to hack into the National Identity Bureau
will be deterred, at least to some degree.
When further violations are discovered,
then newer methods of finding the culprits might have to be invented.
And this will be a continuing cat-and-mouse game
between the detectives attempting to catch the violators
and the hackers who think that they can pry without detection.
Worries about unauthorized snooping will also be
somewhat reduced
by the fact that our National Identity Files will never contain
sensitive data about
us.
As explained in greater detail below,
the File for each of us will only gather
facts already (legitimately) included
in other official records.
The identity File for each of us will only contain
information needed to identify
us.
These types of information will be defined by law.
And this law will also define what
kinds of information are not permitted.
In the age of electronic records,
commercial enterprises already have more information about us
than we would probably choose for them to have.
For example, cell phone records can trace
where we were whenever we had our cell phones turned on.
In order to connect with us when someone calls,
the cell-phone system must know which transmission-tower
is closest to us whenever we have our cell phones on.
And some Internet sites keep records of our visits.
The National Identity File for each of us would not contain
personal information beyond what is explicitly required by law.
And the authorizing legislation will explicitly exclude some
kinds of information.
Other laws might be needed to protect us against
companies
that want to collect facts about us for commercial reasons.
Commercial collection of data will continue to be a greater threat to
our privacy
than the very limited
information
contained in our National Identity Files.
Penalties for
Violating the National Identity File
explains six likely crimes associated with the National Identity Bureau
and suggests a specific term in prison for each crime.
3. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ACCESS
TO
THE NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
Even before we establish a National Identity File
for each of us,
we should establish principles for different levels of access
to the data about each of us held by the National Identity Bureau.
The first level of access will make basic facts
available
to a wide variety of people who have a need to know about us.
This first level of information will include a
recent picture of
each of us.
(When we apply for a driver's license,
we already allow the motor vehicle department to take our pictures.
And these pictures on our driver's licenses are already used
for many identification purposes.)
Perhaps the data needed for our National Identity Files
could start with the facts already collected
by the motor vehicle departments of the various states.
Other facts at this first level of access could
include
the last four digits of our Social
Security Numbers.
And, of course, our current names
would be part of this basic data.
Employers would have access to this level of
information
about everyone living within the borders of the USA.
So they would be required to
check identity
at least to this level before hiring anyone.
If the picture in the National Identity File does not match
the face of the person applying for the job,
then the employer should call the police,
since someone is attempting to commit identify theft or some
other kind
of fraud.
If there is no National Identify File for this
applicant,
then there will be no job either.
The National Identity Files would replace all
present
systems employers use
to check to see if they can hire a person who is applying.
Usually they just check papers
presented by the prospective employee.
Such papers are easy to falsified.
Prospective employers also check to see if the Social Security Number
is valid.
But Social Security Numbers can also be stolen.
Stealing someone else's face
will be much more difficult.
Confusions and omissions can be cleared up by
National Identity Bureau officers
authorized to do deeper investigation into each National
Identify File.
When someone already employed is discovered without
a valid National Identity File,
this does not mean automatic dismissal.
Rather, a temporary
National Identity File could be created
while further facts are gathered.
Law enforcement will also have access
to all the
necessary levels of the National Identity Files.
This should help them to find criminals
who are trying to avoid being
taken into custody.
The U.S. Census Bureau will have instant access to
all
the data they need,
but they will not be able to know the exact names
and Social Security
Numbers of the people.
After the Census Bureau is integrated into the National Identity Bureau,
then all data will be remembered in a single, very secure computer
system.
The need-to-know
will be the principle for
determining
exactly who can read
certain facts in our National Identity Files.
Even the President of the United States will not have uncontrolled
access to our Files.
Every level of government has people who would like to snoop into our
Files.
Whenever such snooping is uncovered
by the process of tracing who has obtained access to each File and when,
appropriate
penalties will be applied immediately.
When potential snoopers know that other people at
their level of access
have already gone to jail
for unauthorized
snooping,
they will think twice before they indulge their curiosity.
Data-mining programs will also be prohibited—of
course.
This
means that no government or private agency will be able to pillage
thru the data
in our National Identity Files searching for persons with particular
characteristics.
Our NIFs will never be
available for commercial purposes.
4. EACH NATIONAL
IDENTITY
FILE WILL INCLUDE
ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY
CONTAINED IN SOME OFFICIAL RECORD.
Fears of Big Brother should be allayed when we
affirm
that the new computer File for each of us
will not contain any private
or personal information
not already a part of a legitimate
official record.
What do law-abiding people have to fear from the
coordination of official information?
People who have something to hide from the IRS, for example,
do have understandable fears that their unreported income might be
discovered.
Criminals who are trying to hide from the police
will obviously not want anything about them contained in a National
Identity File.
But I, for one, have no worries about any of the following kinds of
official information
about me being gathered into one computer File.
When and where we were born was officially recorded.
Our current and former addresses were listed in phone books and city
directories.
Whatever schools we attended have kept the records of those years.
If we have ever owned a home, that will be a part of the real-estate
records.
If we were ever employed, both the IRS and our employers have records
of our existence.
And we all should have Social Security Numbers,
which are required for employment, banking, taxation, & benefits.
If we ever married, this fact was also registered by the local
courthouse.
Each of these facts about us do not pry into our
private lives.
But some embarrassing facts might be included,
such as records of arrests, convictions, & imprisonment.
Law enforcement, courts, & prisons already have such facts about
us.
Each of the facts recorded about us in our National
Identity Files
can lead to other discoverable facts closely related.
For example, if we claim to have attended certain schools,
we should be able to describe something about those schools.
Where were they located?
What years did we attend?
Is there any record that we graduated?
Also, if we claim to have lived in certain locations,
we should be able to answer questions about the neighborhood.
People who are making false claims to be us,
will not be able to answer deeper questions
relating to each of the factual items in our National Identity Files.
And people who were actually living in other
countries during certain years
will not be able to answer questions or provide proofs
that show they were living in the USA during the years in question.
What records of residence can they provide?
Did they file income-tax returns for those years?
Did they own cars that were registered
with the state where they claim to have been living?
5. OFFICIAL RECORDS THAT
ALREADY
EXIST ABOUT US.
A. BIRTH
AND
NATURALIZATION RECORDS
The earliest fact about each of us is the date of
our birth.
The date, time, & place is recorded by the hospital where we were
born.
And those birth records also show who is our mother and probably our
father.
For those of us who were not born in a hospital,
there are other methods for registering the facts within a few days.
Each person born within the USA is automatically an
American
citizen
under current law and practice.
So there is no problem with giving a Social Security Number at birth.
Our unique Social Security Numbers will be one basic fact
that will distinguish us from all
other persons in the National Identity Files.
There might be other people with the same date of birth and even the
same name,
but one unique Social Security Number is assigned to each of us.
Even if we change our names (as when getting married),
we retain our original
Social Security Numbers.
If we were born in other countries, we can receive
Social Security Numbers
when we are permitted to enter the United States
—at
least if we have declared our intention of becoming U.S. citizens
later.
Temporary visitors to the USA from other countries
should have temporary records in the National Identity Bureau.
These visitors will have other
numbers
that are instantly recognized as not Social Security
Numbers.
But they will fit within the same database.
When foreigners become U.S. citizens,
the dates of such
naturalization will be recorded
and Social Security Numbers will be issued if needed.
Pictures will be taken
and all other data needed for their National
Identity Files will be recorded.
At birth the sex of each child is
recorded.
If and when a person legally
changes sex,
the date of that change
will also be included in his or her National
Identity File.
(It makes no sense to change the birth-certificate,
because it was a well-known fact
that this person was of one sex during
certain years of his or her life
and then after a few sex-change operations
was legally recognized as
the other sex.)
The fact of sex-change is one of the facts that will be available
only to others who have a valid right to know,
such as law-enforcement officers
who need to identify a certain person as of a particular date.
B. PASSPORTS
Not every American possesses a passport at
present.
But everyone who travels to other countries and returns to the USA
has a complete record of identity in the passport office.
And when visitors from other countries enter the USA,
they present the passports issued by their countries of citizenship.
Could all of the functions of the passport office
be included in the new National Identity Bureau?
Passports also attempt to establish and prove
the identity and
citizenship of each holder.
But because passports are paper documents, they can be falsified.
Passport cards condense passport information onto
one plastic card.
An embedded computer chip makes these readable
by specialized scanners at close range.
Because passport cards are new,
the number of false documents is not
known.
Passport cards are used for travel within North America.
The National Identify File would be in electronic
form.
It would include a recent picture just as passports do.
(And
advocates of privacy have not complained that passport pictures
violate their privacy.)
But since the identity would be kept in the very-secure computer,
rather than in anything that the passport holder carries with him or
her,
it would be much more
difficult to create a false passport.
Creating a phony passport would require
putting false information into a National Identity
File,
in the super-secure computers of the National Identity Bureau.
Everyone who travels between countries
would be checked electronically by looking at their National Identity
Files
rather than examining individual paper or plastic documents.
And all persons who are prohibited from flying
would have that information displayed with their pictures
whenever someone with the proper authorization checks their identity.
The
pictures themselves will clear up any confusion of identity based on
names.
And the wrong persons will not be prohibited from flying.
The same information about travels now gathered and
recorded by the passport office
would become part of the National Identity File for each traveler.
But (once again), this part of the data would only be available
to authorized persons who have a legitimate right to know about our
travels.
Temporary Files will be created for all visitors to the USA.
And these Visitor Files with the National Identity Bureau
will contain the specific authorization, including the termination date
when permission to be present in the United States comes to an end.
Temporary Files for visitors will show when they were granted
permission,
when they entered the USA,
and when they departed
once again for their homelands.
These Visitor Files will actually be preserved in the computer
system,
in case the same visitor wants to visit the USA at some later time.
Another visit might require a new photo
and further confirmation that this is really the same person.
C. SELECTIVE SERVICE REGISTRATION &
MILITARY
SERVICE
Federal
law still requires all males ages 18-25 to be registered for the draft,
even tho there has been no draft since 1973.
The new National Identity Bureau could easily absorb this function.
The age and sex of each person living in the USA
would already be included in the National Identity computer.
No separate registration would be needed.
A National Identity File is opened for each person at birth or upon
entering the USA.
When each male reaches the age of 18,
he is automatically included in the Selective Service database.
No specific actions would be required to register.
And no actions could prevent
being registered.
When each male reaches age 26, he is automatically removed from
the SSS
database.
At present there are about 14 million young men registered with the
Selective Service System.
Whenever someone (whether a U.S. citizen or not)
serves in one of the U.S. military forces,
those facts are well recorded by that branch of the U.S. government.
The National Identity File for each person will mention
all terms of service in any branch of the U.S. military.
But the actual military
records will remain with
the U.S. Army, Navy,
Marines, Air
Force, or Coast Guard.
D. SCHOOL
AND COLLEGE RECORDS
Everyone who has ever attended an elementary school,
a secondary school,
or any
institution of higher education
has left a record of that attendance and perhaps a record of having
graduated.
These records will also be correlated by the National Identity
Bureau.
However, the National Identity Bureau has no need to
know
what grades we earned
in each year of formal education.
All
that would be required for identity
purposes would be these facts:
We were registered in such-and-such schools
and during specific years we did attend.
Complete school and college records will be
maintained by those educational institutions.
E. DRIVERS' LICENSES AND VEHICLE REGISTRATION
Over 100 million of us already have driver's
licenses,
which include our pictures and some other facts about us.
This database is more than 1/3 of the total number of people living
in the USA.
The National Identity Files could begin with this basic data.
Every vehicle on the road anywhere in the USA or its
territories has a license plate,
which identifies that individual car, truck, & even boat trailer.
The states and territories are in charge of vehicle registration.
Our National Identity Files would probably simply note
that we are the registered owners of certain kinds of vehicles on the
road.
When needed by authorized users,
the details in the files of each state
could be consulted.
But the National Identity Bureau
(NIB)
would have to verify (at least whenever there is doubt)
that the facts collected by the motor vehicle bureaus of the various
states are correct.
We all know that it is sometimes far too easy to get a false driver's
license.
Millions of teen-agers who are too young to be admitted to bars
have phony driver's licenses showing false dates of birth.
(When the National Identity
Bureau
discovers one of these false
records,
it should also inform all other agencies that might have been misled,
including the state motor vehicle bureau that has recorded the
false date of birth
and/or any other 'facts' in a fake driver's-license file.)
The National Identity Bureau would also discover
drivers who are licensed in more than one state
and motor vehicles that were reported missing.
In many cases, there would be easy, legitimate explanations
for multiple driver's licenses and vehicles crossing state lines.
Also, some states give driver's licenses to citizens
of other countries
who are living in those states without any permission from the federal
government.
These states often do not want to enforce immigration
laws.
Such states just overlook the facts of citizenship.
But citizens of other countries living in the United
States
will also have National Identity Files.
For example, people who have visas to live in the USA for employment or
education
often do have a legitimate right to drive.
And people waiting to become citizens of the USA
also should have driver's licenses if they drive.
Once the National Identity Bureau
has a complete database of all people living in the USA,
then the various state motor vehicle departments
would check the applicant's Identify File in NIB
before issuing or renewing a driver's license.
This would catch people trying to be licensed in more than one state.
And NIB would know which drivers are citizens of the USA and which are
not.
Non-citizens
would not
automatically be registered by vote under
motor-voter protocols.
And
the NIB would guarantee that there is only one identity for each
person.
As said before, even persons temporarily visiting
the USA
will have temporary Files in the National Identity Bureau.
And some of these should be licensed to drive.
F. PHONE
BOOKS
AND CITY DIRECTORIES
If we ever had a phone number, our names were
printed in phone books.
We can pay extra to have an un-listed phone number,
but the telephone company still knows where we live.
Some cities maintain city directories,
which list all residents and businesses,
even if they do not have registered telephones.
Some city directories were discontinued
because everyone was already in the phone book.
But as more people abandon their land-line telephones
and have only mobile phones,
city directories might be re-created.
Probably some telephone numbers will be included in
our National Identity Files.
Current and former addresses would also be included.
G.
TAX
RECORDS & SOCIAL SECURITY
If we have ever been employed or had other taxable
income,
we have records in the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS has records for over 150 million taxpayers.
And these records also name any dependents
who are too young to have their own tax-records.
Also most states and localities have tax records.
Not
all of the facts in our tax-records
will be
incorporated into our National Identity Files.
For example, the amounts of income for specific years is not relevant.
But it would be valuable for the National Identity Bureau
to know that we did in fact file
income-tax returns for certain years,
using our correct names and addresses for those years.
This might serve as a good example of the limits of
the National Identity File.
It would be unnecessarily-intrusive for the NIB to record
the amounts of our incomes for the various years we filed income-tax
returns.
The IRS will keep those numbers,
but our complete tax-returns are not necessary for proving
our identities.
The IRS also knows the sources of our incomes from
each year.
But such details would not
be transferred to the NIB.
Each employer has a federal employer identification number.
If authorized investigators have a legitimate right to know,
employment records kept by employers could also be consulted
in order to establish our identities.
Our employers have our Social Security Numbers
and sometimes also our pictures.
The Social Security Administration has a record
of every person
who has ever had a Social Security Number.
And assigning new Social Security Numbers at birth
will make these
records more complete.
At present, the SSA might have the most complete record of people
living in the USA.
When we pay Social Security Taxes, these amounts are recorded by the
SSA.
And when we begin to receive Social Security benefits and Medicare,
these facts are also contained in the computers of the SSA.
Because of its many other valid functions,
the
Social Security Administration will remain an independent agency,
separate from the National Identity
Bureau.
But the records of both federal agencies
will be compatible and freely shared as needed.
And, of course, penalties
will be applied whenever snooping is discovered.
H. VOTER
REGISTRATION
Every citizen of the United States has a right to
vote in local, state, & national elections.
In order to control exactly who is permitted to vote,
each locality anywhere in the USA and its territories has a local voter
registration roll.
Our registration to vote is always associated with our current address.
And the National Identity File would also be helpful in discovering
voter fraud,
which might include a voter being registered to vote in more than
one
place.
Instead of signing our names or presenting our
picture IDs when voting,
it would be appropriate to check our identities using our National
Identity Files.
The voting officials would look at our pictures in the national
electronic facebook
to make sure that we are the persons we claim to be.
And it would be instantly recorded that we did vote on a certain date.
This will prevent us from
voting at another polling place in that
election.
(Of course, the candidates
we voted for would never be associated with
our names.)
Another kind of voter fraud would be prevented
by having a National Identity File for each registered voter.
Some persons convicted of serious crimes lose their right to vote.
This information would be instantly available to the poll officials.
And they would not issue a
ballot to anyone who is not permitted to
vote.
Same-day voter registration would also be
facilitated by our National Identity Files.
Whenever someone moves to a new address,
that fact is now automatically sent to the Social Security
Administration
by the U.S. Postal Service.
This new address would also be recorded in our National Identity Files.
And when we register to vote in the new location,
our registration to vote in the former location should be automatically
canceled.
Some people have several homes.
But they must choose only
one location for voting.
Their National Identity File would keep track of their primary
residence.
But how
we vote would never become a part of any official record.
Even in those rare instances where party
affiliation is registered,
this would never become part of our National Identity Files.
Each voting place in the USA has strict controls
which insure that only registered voters are permitted to vote.
But each specific ballot cast is never associated with a particular
voter.
There is no way for anyone else to read our secret ballots.
The bare facts that we did vote in certain elections
would be valid facts to include in our individual National Identity
Files.
If needed, such facts could prove
that we were in a certain location on
a specific day.
Overseas citizens of the USA, including people
serving in the military forces,
also have a right to vote in U.S. elections.
This voting could be facilitated by using the National Identity File
for each citizen living outside of the USA.
Secure electronic voting will probably be created first for these
overseas U.S. citizens.
And such systems would have to be as secure and as secret
as any paper
ballots now
used.
The National Identity File for each potential voter
would also record the citizenship of the registered person.
If the person is a registered foreign national—not
a citizen of the USA—
this person does not have a right to vote.
This would be a way of clearing local voting rolls of non-citizens.
Sometimes foreign nationals have simply lied
about their citizenship when they got driver's licenses.
And they also registered to vote at the same time and place.
This has sometimes been discovered when people called for jury duty
(based on voting rolls) begged off because they were not U.S. citizens.
Especially in areas with large immigrant populations,
significant numbers of people on the voting rolls are not U.S.
citizens.
Voting rolls would still be maintained by local
units of government.
But they would check identities using the National Identity Files
whenever someone shows up to vote at a local poling place.
Within the present century, most voting in the USA
will probably become electronic.
We will be able to vote from home, using our personal computers.
Each citizen of the USA has one and only one vote,
no matter where he or she might be on election day.
Just as with in-person voting, our National Identity Files
will probably be the basic way we will prove our identities.
We will need very secure ways to make sure
that hackers are not voting in the names of several other people.
I. CENSUS
FACTS
And since the National Identity Bureau will take
over all of the
functions of the Census Bureau,
it will automatically absorb all U.S. Census data.
But individual Identity Files will
not record private information
collected by the Census Bureau.
We know that every census count
misses some
percentage of the people
actually living in the USA.
But once the National Identity Bureau takes over,
there will be strong
motivations for everyone to register himself or
herself:
People will not be permitted to be employed unless they are
identified.
People will not be able to rent
or buy apartments or homes
unless they have National Identity Files.
People will not be permitted to drive without a valid ID.
Ownership of cars and other motor vehicles is always registered.
People will not be allowed to open
bank accounts
without showing that they are already registered with the NIB.
Issuers of credit cards
will be required to check our identities.
All licenses issued
by any arm of government
will require proper identification of the applicants.
People will be permitted to
buy
airline tickets and/or to
board airplanes
only if they have a File in the national database.
The Internal Revenue Service has extensive records of each of us.
And the Social Security Administration
is supposed to have each person
in the USA registered
in order to collect Social Security taxes and pay Social Security
benefits and Medicare.
And we will probably add other activities of daily living
that will not be permitted
without proper identification.
When someone has no
National Identify File,
that is an obvious reason to suspect
that he or she is attempting to do
something that violates laws.
The thousands of current employees of the U.S.
Census Bureau
will continue to work for the National Identity Bureau.
But there will be no need for extra thousands of people to be hired for
the census every 10 years.
The census can be taken at
any time by asking the computer system
how many people live in each place in the USA.
In effect, the daily updates of facts in the national identity database
will be the continuous
census of the USA.
Past problems of undercounting will be eliminated
by the extremely accurate and super-secure national identity database.
If mayors or governors are worried about undercounting for their areas,
they can assist the National Identity Bureau to get information
on individuals who were not previously registered.
J.
FINGERPRINTS & CRIMINAL RECORDS
Only a small percentage of us have our fingerprints
on record somewhere.
But whenever such proofs of identity already exist,
they should be included in our individuals Identity Files in the
National Identity Bureau.
Law-enforcement has made the widest use of modern fingerprint
technology.
It is now possible to check the FBI database of millions of
fingerprints
instantly.
This database will help to identify some individuals who want to
remain anonymous.
In cases where two people might easily be confused
with one another
based only on photographs, fingerprints will be extremely useful.
For example, identical twins cannot be distinguished by many people who
look at them.
But even identical twins have slightly different fingerprints.
People who have been arrested, tried,
convicted, or imprisoned
will have complete fingerprints on file.
These can be used by law-enforcement for identifying the perpetrators
of new crimes
and for exonerating people suspected of new crimes
who were not the people who committed the crimes.
Whenever anyone is convicted of a crime,
this becomes a permanent part of their National Identity File.
The record will show when and where the crime was committed,
when the individual was tried or pled guilty,
and where any prison or jail time was served,
and the dates of imprisonment and release.
Most of the details of crimes will be kept only by the local
law-enforcement office.
But these detailed records can be shared with other authorized
agencies
when valid reasons are presented.
Just as not everyone has a criminal record,
the FBI does not have fingerprints for everyone.
But where such identity-records already exist,
the fact of their existence and their locations
should be added to the National Identity Files
of the persons whose
identities they prove.
Other biometric data might also be appropriate to
add to each National Identity File
as they become reliable ways to prove the identity of individuals
living in the USA.
For example, when DNA profiles have already been established for us,
those facts will also be included in our National Identity Files.
And authorized law-enforcement agencies will be directed to the
locations
of our actual biometric data and detailed criminal records.
Those few individuals who have lost the right to own
guns
as a result of criminal behavior or some other court-determination
will have this fact recorded in their Identity Files.
And all gun dealers will be required to check this status
before selling guns to anyone.
If and when the United States moves to create universal gun
registration,
the National Identity File of each gun-owner will so indicate.
6. PERSONS PRETENDING TO BE
SOMEONE
THEY ARE NOT
WILL BE DETAINED UNTIL THEIR REAL IDENTITIES
CAN BE ESTABLISHED.
Once the National Identity Files are complete
—having
a listing for every man, woman, & child living in the United
States—
then
people discovered anywhere in the USA or its territories
who do not appear in
the National Identity Files
will immediately be taken into custody by the local police.
They will be placed in holding facilities until their true identities
can be established.
And if they refuse to cooperate, they will be held indefinitely,
forced to do productive work, until someone helps to identify them.
If they are discovered to be citizens of some other
countries
living in the United States without permission,
then temporary Files will be created for them.
Some of these will return to their countries of citizenship.
And if they have valid reasons—such
as reasonable fears of persecution—
they can be given temporary permission to live in the USA.
All relevant facts will be contained in their National Identity Files.
Homeland Security will also use the National
Identity Files
to identify all persons who are not permitted to fly in U.S. airspace.
In the past, airline security has depended on a faulty no-fly list of names.
People with similar names
were frequently prevented from flying.
But having a picture
of each person will make it easy
to see who is a person suspected of terrorist ties (who is not
permitted
to fly)
and who is a completely
different person,
even if the names might be similar or even identical.
And if actual terrorists have been identified in
their National Identity Files,
Homeland Security officers at the airports can take them into custody
wherever they are discovered, perhaps hoping to evade the security
check.
Every face will be checked by comparing it
with the picture of that person in his or her National Identity File.
And most of us will be allowed to fly without any further
investigation.
7. NOT A NATIONAL ID CARD:
LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES.
Because the history of all forms of paper and
plastic records
shows that someone can always create false documents,
the National Identify Bureau will not attempt to create
anything
that we can carry with us, such as a national identity card.
The multi-billion dollar industry for creating false
documents
will disappear as the
National Identity Files replace most paper and
plastic documents.
The same criminals who used to create false documents
will shift their attention to putting false data into the
National
Identity Files.
And the security system of the National Identity Bureau
will be able to identify and locate all such identity-criminals.
And they will be appropriately
imprisoned for attempting to create
false identities.
False-identity criminals will be identified by the
computer system itself:
Whenever new data is added to a National Identity File,
the source of that
new data will be identified.
If any 'facts' later prove to be false,
the computer will disclose exactly
who inserted the false data.
And when false data is discovered,
all of the other data inserted by the same person or same organization
will also be checked to see if it is also false.
All who attempt to create
false entries in the National Identity Files
will soon by in prison.
And the false data they
inserted will be replaced by the real facts.
The National Identify Files will be available
on-line
to all authorized users.
So, instead of showing a card,
a driver's license, or citizenship papers,
we will show our faces
and tell our names.
Any person who has a legitimate right to know who we are
will consult our individual Identity Files in the national database.
Only the basic information, including our pictures,
will be available to most viewers of our National Identity Files.
But seeing our pictures and reading our names
should be enough to show that we are who we claim to be
and that we are in fact citizens, permanent residents,
registered foreign nationals, or authorized
visitors to the USA.
Real ID, E-Verify, and other such failed attempts to
create identity files
will all be replaced by the super-secure and super-accurate National
Identify Files.
Real ID was based on the data collected by state
motor vehicle departments.
But fake driver's licenses were far too easy to obtain.
The 19 hijackers of 9-11-2001 had a total of 63 driver's licenses.
State-issued licenses to drive clearly did protect us from
terrorists.
E-Verify was a national data-base of names and
Social Security Numbers,
which was supposed to be used by prospective employers
to make sure that applicants were permitted to work in the USA.
But it did not work because it was so easy to buy false names and
numbers.
Green cards and other identity documents
have shown us the way NOT to create a National Identity Bureau.
The records must be very-secure electronic information,
not any imaginable form of a
national ID card.
Instead of looking at any document we can carry with
us,
people who need to check our identities
will look for our pictures in the national facebook of the USA.
Errors and fraud will nevertheless happen,
especially when the National Identity Bureau is new.
But all problems discovered
can be corrected.
The early mistakes of the National Identity Bureau
will help create systems to prevent such mistakes in the future.
8. SUPER SECURE AND
EXTREMELY
ACCURATE.
Because so much depends on the facts contained in
our National Identity Files,
billions of dollars should be spent to make certain
that the information is very secure from any hackers
who might like to steal someone's identify.
The opposite danger will be people attempting to
insert false data
into the National Identify Files.
Foreign nationals and common criminals
have the strongest motivations for attempting
to create false identities in
the National Identity Bureau.
All identity
crimes will be punished by imprisonment.
This includes both those who attempt to insert false data
and those for whom the false data was created.
Security will be assured by different levels of
access to the National Identify Files.
Employers will have a
low level of access,
probably only the names, Social Security Numbers, & pictures of
each of us.
Law enforcement will
have the highest level of access,
since they probably need as much information
about actual and potential
criminals as possible in order to find them.
Most of the information about us will be permanent
and unchanging.
But when we move to a different address, get married or divorced,
change our employment, etc.
such changes can be recorded in our Identify Files.
And when we die, that will also be recorded with the correct date.
Because our appearance changes with each passing
year,
a current picture
will be the top item in our personal Files.
If we have driver's licenses, we already have our pictures taken every
5 years.
These same pictures could be included in our National Identity Files.
Or we might decide to have other pictures that will make it easier
to verify that we are really the persons we say we are.
For some individuals, it might be necessary
to have several pictures
in this national facebook.
When people might easily be mistaken for others based only on one
picture,
other distinguishing characteristics such as age, height, & weight
become more important.
Infants are sometimes hard to distinguish from one another,
especially when they are identical twins.
Thus some additional biometric facts might be included in their
National Identity Files.
Where fingerprint records already exist,
this fact will also be included in those persons' National Identity
Files.
DNA profiles have already been created for some of us
—both
to convict the guilty and to exonerate the innocent.
In the future, new scientific methods of establishing identity will
be created.
And these can be included in the national database
as soon as they might prove useful for separating each of us
from the millions of other people who also have National Identity
Files.
Confusions discovered in the early years of
operation of the National Identity Bureau
will suggest ways to clarify identity
so that no two people would
ever be confused with each other.
For example, the National Identity File of each might indicate
that this person is sometimes
confused with another person in the
National Identity database.
And then some additional facts that distinguish them would be
described.
9. THE AUTHORIZING
LEGISLATION
WOULD DEFINE EXACTLY
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED ABOUT
EACH
OF US
AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE CONTAINED
IN OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES.
Because of valid fears about government employees
snooping into our Files,
certain facts about us might be explicitly excluded by the authorizing
legislation.
And penalties
should be named and enforced
for any government employee who attempts to add data
that does not belong
in our National Identity Files.
Marriages and divorces are official government
records.
But if we choose not to be married under the laws of any state,
then the facts about our personal relationships should never be
mentioned in our NIFs.
We can all name facts about us and our neighbors
that we do not want
any government employee to know.
Sometimes we cannot prevent private companies
from collecting information about us.
But we can at least make sure
that some kinds of data
are never collected by the
U.S.
government or by any other level of
government.
More details about
the kinds of data that will
never be collected or recorded:
FEAR AND
LOATHING OF 'THE GOVERNMENT':
INFORMATION TO BE EXCLUDED
FROM OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY FILES:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/EXCLUDE.html.
10. CHILD-SUPPORT TRACING AND
WELFARE FRAUD.
For parents who never married or who dissolved
their marriages
there might be court-ordered child-support.
Unfortunately, it is now far too easy for the parent who is supposed to
pay
to move to a different location and stop paying child-support.
Once a National Identity Bureau is established,
it would not be as easy to
disappear in order to avoid supporting one's
children.
Each National Identity File would name and identify
each and every child of this parent.
All marriages would be included in the National Identity File of each
partner
(which
would incidentally preclude bigamy).
And any court-ordered child-support would be recorded.
That parental obligation would follow each parent,
no matter where he or she lives.
Mothers and fathers would not be able to establish themselves in new
locations
without such facts being recorded in their National Identity Files.
At least in the past, one easy form of welfare fraud
was to claim more children
than one actually had.
In some locations, more children were collecting welfare
than were found in the local schools.
In other words, some children either did not really exist
or were claimed as dependents by people who were not their parents.
Clear identification (with pictures) of all children and parents
would prevent most such forms of welfare fraud.
Another way to scam the welfare departments of
various locations
is to collect welfare benefits from several different places at once.
Usually this was done with false names and addresses.
But a National Identity File would make certain
that each individual (including each child)
is collecting welfare, Social Security benefits, income-tax refunds,
etc. in only one place.
A certainly number of staff members of the National
Identity Bureau
would be employed full-time to cross-check the various Files
to make certain that no individual is registered more than once.
Eliminating people who were illegally collecting tax-payers' money
from more than one program would help to pay for the cost of the
NIB.
And the fact that thousands of such double-dippers were discovered each
year
should discourage others from trying similar methods.
11. IMPACT ON UNAUTHORIZED
IMMIGRATION.
Once it becomes known to everyone on Earth
that the United States of America requires a National Identity File
for each person living in the USA,
then many foreign nationals will be deterred from coming into
the USA
without
permission.
They will know in advance that they will not be able to obtain
employment
because they have no National Identity File in the USA.
And many citizens of other countries already
living in the USA without permission
will voluntarily return to
their home countries
when they know they will be asked to confirm their identities in the
USA.
If there is no File in the National Identity Bureau,
there will be no job for them.
Employers will be severely punished for hiring anyone
who has no National Identity File
or who are obviously not the persons they claim to be.
This includes politicians, who have frequently been
discovered
employing people who are not authorized to reside in the USA.
When a few politicians have gone to jail—even
for brief sentences—
for employing citizens of other countries living in the USA without
permission,
then everyone else will be on
notice that this is a form of behavior
that will no longer be tolerated in the USA.
And all foreign nationals who had hoped to go unnoticed
will start making plans to return to their countries of citizenship
as soon as they know for certain that their identities will be
investigated.
Foreign nationals who have violated no laws beyond immigration laws
might be given a low priority for
deportation
and temporary permission to remain in the USA.
They would be registered
with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The National Identity File for each person living in
the USA
will completely replace the
flawed E-Verify program.
This program was intended to give employers a way to verify
that a new applicant for a job was authorized to be employed in the USA.
But because it was based primarily on names and Social Security
Numbers,
it did not detect people who had stolen someone else's identity.
The National Identity File will put the picture of the individual
first.
False numbers and names are easy to provide,
but it is very difficult to steal someone else's face.
The millions of federal dollars now allocated for
E-Verify
will shift to the new National Identity Bureau.
And the error-rate should drop to very near zero.
Thousands of employees of the new National Identity Bureau
will continuously update that datebase
when new people are born, naturalized, granted permission to enter
the USA,
or registered
as foreign nationals already settled in the United States.
The National Identity File would also completely replace green cards,
which show that foreign nationals have the right to live and work in
the USA.
Because these Permanent Residence cards are easy to manufacture,
millions of them are in use.
False green cards can be purchased for about $100.
Green cards do contain a picture of the card holder.
When a National Identity File is created for each resident of
the USA,
then all the phony green cards will become useless,
since the prospective employer will not depend
on any cards or papers presented by the applicant.
Rather the prospective employer will look up the job-applicant
on the super-secure computer of the National Identity Bureau.
If the face of the applicant does not match the face in the NIB photo,
there will be no job for this applicant.
And the most appropriate law-enforcement should be called.
Because there are already millions of foreign
nationals
living in the USA without permission,
orderly and
reasonable methods of repatriation will be created.
Temporary Files will be created for citizens of other countries once
they are discovered.
And their complete family connections will be explored
before deciding just which foreign nationals
will be returned to the countries where they are citizens.
Many foreign nationals will be offered pathways to U.S. citizenship.
Such decisions will have to be made by new laws created by the USA
and enforced by immigration judges who will examine each case.
But the fact of establishing a National Identity
File
for each and every man, woman, & child living in the United States
is not itself the creation of
a new immigration policy or practice.
Complete amnesty for
all foreign nationals living in the USA
would also be possible
with a new National Identity Bureau.
Each person living in the USA would automatically have an Identity
File.
This would include all citizens of other countries,
whether or not they have permission to be present in the USA.
Once we have a File for everyone living in the USA,
then a new immigration policy could be applied,
which would either give foreign nationals pathways to citizenship
or would require their orderly return to their countries of origin.
Whatever changes we decide to make in our immigration laws and
practices,
we will have a solid database and the actual names and addresses
of all people who might be affected by any future changes.
When foreign nationals who are in the National
Identity Files of the USA
return (either voluntarily or by mandatory repatriation) to their
countries of citizenship,
this fact will also be recorded in their National Identity Files,
along with the date of departure
and the new address in their home countries, when possible.
These people might join the millions of others who are applying to come
to the USA.
And the fact that they already have had a temporary National Identify
File
should be a part of their application of be admitted to the United
States of America.
Citizens of the United States who might easily be
confused with foreign nationals
should be among the first to welcome
a new National Identity Bureau,
which would be a quick and easy way to prove that they are U.S.
citizens
or that they are permanent
residents of the USA.
Legal residents will be lining up at the Post Offices
to have their official pictures taken for our new national facebook.
12. THE COST OF THE NEW NATIONAL
IDENTITY BUREAU
AND ITS FILE FOR
EACH
PERSON.
There will be both large start-up costs and
continuing costs of operation.
For example, if it costs $100 to establish one computer File for each
of us,
this start-up cost will be 310,000,000 people times $100 each,
which amounts to $31 billion.
On-going costs will be the costs of updating each
File as needed
and adding new Files whenever a baby is born (about 4 million per year)
and closing Files when someone dies (about 2.5 million per year).
Also, new Files will be created by everyone entering the USA
either temporarily as a visitor or permanently as an authorized
immigrant.
Thousands of new employees will be needed to keep
the National Identity Bureau
working on a daily basis, creating new Files, closing old Files,
& verifying identities for all who have a
legitimate right to know.
A large number of permanent employees of the NIB
will be engaged in computer
security.
These men and women will make certain
that only authorized person are
consulting the Files,
that no identities are bring stolen,
and that no false information is being inserted into the National
Identity Files.
But creating the National Identity Bureau
will have
immediate impact on other parts of the U.S. government.
Most notably, there will be data about all persons living in the USA.
All of these people should be filing income-tax returns if they have
taxable income.
But we know that millions of people work in the underground economy.
They have not been paying the taxes they owe.
The new National Identify Bureau will help the IRS to discover
tax-evaders.
Probably the increased
revenue from those who were not previously
paying their taxes
would be enough to pay the
entire cost of the new National Identity
Bureau.
And because the National Identity Bureau will take
over all of the functions of the Census Bureau,
the money previously going to the U.S. Census Bureau will go to the
NIB.
Likewise, taxpayers' money and fees that used to go to support the
Passport office
will be redirected to the new National Identity Bureau.
When we worry that the cost of the National Identity
Bureau will be too burdensome,
we need only to remember that Facebook.com
has three times as many people in
its
computers.
And the data for each registered user in Facebook.com
is greater than the data needed for each National Identity File.
How much does it cost Facebook.com to create each new file?
How much does it cost Facebook.com to update a file?
The financial benefits to the United States
government
(and to other levels of government)
of having a complete record of all people living in the USA
will probably out-weigh the costs of creating and maintaining our
national facebook.
And because the National Identity Bureau
will also keep track of U.S. citizens living in other countries,
many of whom are quite wealthy and all of whom should be paying U.S.
income taxes,
a significant increase in revenues can be expected from overseas
Americans.
13. HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT
YOUR
LOCAL POST OFFICE.
Everyone
living in the USA is near an office of the United States Postal
Service.
And most adults receive some mail.
The Post Office has over 130 million addresses where it delivers mail.
The U.S. Postal Service shares our changes-of-address with the Social
Security Administration.
And USPS could do the same for the new National Identity Bureau.
Registration with the National Identity Bureau would
be paid for by all taxpayers.
Thus, there would be no fee
collected for having one's picture taken at
the local Post Office.
Many U.S. Post Offices already do take picture for passports.
But if and when a National Identity File replaces passports,
this service of taking new pictures every five years will become
free.
The experience of Facebook.com shows that it is
possible to have electronic records
that include pictures and facts about hundreds of millions of people.
The world-wide number of people now using Facebook
is three times the total population of the United States of America.
Soon Facebook.com will pass 1 billion users.
The technology already exists.
The National Identity Bureau will have to collect data
that is more complete, more accurate, & more secure.
Because the U.S. Postal Service also serves every
man,
woman, & child living in the USA,
there should be good coordination between USPS and the new National
Identity Bureau.
And keeping our national database of all residents current
could be a new function for the United States Postal Service,
which will continue to lose its original function
as more of us use electronic means of communication
rather than sending messages written on paper.
New money would be provided to the USPS for these new services.
Should our local post offices
become the main point of contact
between all residents living in the USA and the new National Identity
Bureau?
If we have a new picture taken every five years,
this will mean 60 million new pictures created each year.
14. DID THE NATIONAL IDENTITY
BUREAU
BEGIN IN 2012?
The
history of the NIB might in some later year be traced to the year 2012.
That year the Department of Homeland Security will begin registering
more than one million DREAMers—young
foreign nationals
who were brought into their USA by their parents when they were still
children.
On June 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security
announced "deferred action" for all foreign nationals who would qualify
for the DREAM act.
By administrative decision (in contrast to new legislation),
children who were bought into the USA without permission
while they were younger than 16 years
will no longer be subject to immediate deportation
if they were less than 31 years of age on June 15, 2012.
They will not be prosecuted for the immigration violations of their
parents.
And, unless they have been convicted of serious crimes,
they will be given temporary authorization to work in the USA.
Such two-year authorizations might be renewed on a case-by-case basis.
This "deferred action" does not grant amnesty.
And it will not automatically open a pathway to American citizenship.
Also, after these qualified foreign nationals register with the U.S.
government,
the months under this new status will not count as months 'out of
status'.
All further questions of legal residence and possible citizenship
will have to be established by immigration reform at some later time.
Deciding not to prosecute DREAMers already settled
in the USA
will not encourage additional unauthorized immigration,
because "deferred action" requires at least 5 years
of continuous presence in the USA up to and including June 15, 2012.
About one million young, law-abiding foreign
nationals
who were brought into America by
their parents without
permission
will probably register under this decision not to deport them.
Watch the Department
of Homeland Security website
for details about eligibility criteria and how to register.
This will be voluntary registration:
All who qualify for this "deferred action"
must choose to register themselves.
And this new database of foreign nationals, begun in
the year 2012,
might form the basis for the universal
registration of all foreign
nationals
settled in the USA without permission.
And later the same datebase could be expanded to include
everyone living in the
USA and its territories.
We can only hope that the Department of Homeland Security
has the foresight to create the database for these young DREAMers
in a format that can easily be expanded to include over 300 million of
us.
AUTHOR:
James Leonard Park is an immigrant to the United
States.
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen with the rest of his siblings
when his father was naturalized in 1955.
This story is told in another cyber-sermon:
"I am an Immigrant":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-I-IMG.html
Another on-line essay addresses related themes:
"IMMIGRATION REFORM: A Range of Options":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-IM-OP.html
And another cyber-sermon is called:
"IMMIGRATION REFORM: Problems and Solutions:
Keeping the UU Debate Constructive":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-IM-PS.html
More
specific suggestions are included in
"Expanding the DREAM Act:
New Pathways to Citizenship":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-DREAM.html
And
if it seems wise, the National Identity Bureau
could begin by registering the 12 million citizens of other countries
who are settled in the USA without authorization:
"Register all Foreign Nationals: Carrots and Sticks":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-REG.html.
The best way to get foreign nationals to register
voluntarily
is to guarantee that
they will not be immediately deported:
"Registration without Deportation:
Bringing Millions of Foreign Nationals out of the Shadows":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-REG-D.html.
Much more information about James Park is available
on his
website,
"An Existential
Philosopher's Museum".
This Internet museum has more than 1,000 'rooms'.
Created
August 2, 2010; Revised 9-3-2010; 9-4-2010; 9-24-2010; 9-26-2010;
10-6-2010; 10-7-2010; 10-9-2010; 10-26-2010; 10-29-2010; 11-5-2010;
11-13-2010; 12-1-2010; 12-15-2010; 12-22-2010; 12-30-2010; 1-6-2011;
1-7-2011; 1-9-2011; 1-11-2011; 1-13-2011; 10-1-2011; 10-5-2011;
10-15-2011; 10-20-2011; 11-18-2011;
4-30-2012; 6-20-2012; 7-25-2012; 8-7-2012; 8-16-2012; 3-14-2013
The following two links can be read as "replies to objections".
95% of Americans are expected to be against this proposal for a
National Identity Bureau at first.
But see if the following llnks provide ideas
that will prevent the
problems
imagined by those initially apposed to a National Identity Bureau.
Penalties for
Violating the National Identity Files
explains six likely crimes associated with the National Identity Bureau
and suggests a specific term in prison for each crime.
This
file describes kinds of 'information' that will never be allowed in NIFs.
Go to the opening page for this
website:
An Existential
Philosopher's Museum