Slashdot Mirror
National ID May Have Killed Immigration Bill
News.com reports that the immigration reform bill bouncing around in the Senate for the last few weeks has finally been defeated. The site speculates that, perhaps, one of the reasons it was finally defeated was a measure intended to expand the use of Real ID cards. If passed, the bill would have effectively turned the Real ID system into a National ID card. "The American Civil Liberties Union, another longtime foe of Real ID, said the Real ID requirements were a 'poison pill that derailed this bill, and any future legislation should be written knowing the American people won't swallow it.' Another section of the immigration bill would have given $1.5 billion to state officials to pay for Real ID compliance. Even if the immigration bill is goes nowhere, however, the Real ID Act is still in effect. It says, starting on May 11, 2008, Americans will need a federally-approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments or take advantage of nearly any government service." As we've discussed before, several states have rebelled against the implementation of Real ID.
I think amnesty is a misused word here, because the penalties for being here illegally don't go away. Amnesty is total forgiving of debt / crime, but the immigration bill has a very steep fine that I think is impossible to pay on a typical illegal immigrant's wages. In short, I really don't think this illegal immigration bill changes anything other than thicken the law books, so I really don't understand why there's a tug of war on this, except to be a distraction from actually doing anything useful.
It's kind of a shame that certain political groups try to derail it by misusing loaded words. I know this is typical for politics, but it sounds pretty retarted.