Schumer Details Fingerprint Plan to Verify US Workers' Identity
As part of broader legislation he plans to introduce later this year that would provide a pathway to legal status for some 10 to 12 million immigrants, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is proposing a plan to require that the identity of United States workers be verified through fingerprints or digital photographs.
The fingerprint plan, which the Senate Judiciary Committee immigration subcommittee chair detailed during a Congressional hearing, drew fire from immigration analysts based on technical and privacy concerns, reports the Washington Post.
The senator didn’t say whether the government would maintain a fingerprint or biometric database, or if identifying data could be maintained in a portable card held by workers, the newspaper notes. However, he emphasized that the fingerprint plan would be used only for employment purposes and would include strict privacy controls.
“The only way to stop illegal immigration is to stop employers from hiring illegal immigrants,” Schumer said, adding: “We must … adopt a system that relies upon objective, rather than subjective, criteria to prove identity and legal status. The system must be nonforgeable and airtight.”
