Coming this summer to a city near you: taxpayer-funded identification cards for thousands of illegal immigrants.
Well, maybe to a city near you; Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials insist that some aspects of the plan are “pre-decisional,” and though both Atlanta and Houston have been named as possible locations, things are still subject to change.
The source who told Fox News that went unnamed in the report, but Fox called him or her “familiar with the program,” and I’m very willing to believe that the source is at least a federal government employee. Only a professional bureaucrat would use a term like “pre-decisonal.”
Fox said that ICE was able to confirm that the program was headed for a limited roll-out in “three or four locations in the U.S.” that would issue cards to about 10,000 illegals.
People have been talking about the “ICE Secure Docket Card” for a couple of years, and now the talk is slated to become reality, but ICE says the card will not be an official form of federal ID, according to Fox, and that it will “indicate it is for use by DHS agencies” on the card itself.
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Again, only a government bureaucrat could claim — presumably with a straight face — that a card issued to someone by an agency of the federal government on the basis of who the individual is should not be considered “an official form of federal identification.”
To quote the philosopher Douglas Powers (more commonly known as Dr. Evil): Riiiiiiight.
That is, however, what the agency claimed, at least according to Fox.
“While the specifics of the card and pilot are under development, it is important to note the secure card will not be an official form of federal identification,” Fox quoted the agency as saying.
Will this program help the border crisis at all?
“The secure card will indicate it is for use by DHS agencies and would be provided only after national security background checks have been performed,” the ICE statement added.
Here’s the part that makes sense: Illegal aliens are often given documents when they’re released from custody, such as information about when to appear in court for a hearing about their immigration status. Those documents are on paper, and therefore can get damaged or lost.
ICE Secure Docket Cards can presumably get lost as well — at least, I haven’t seen anyone proposing that they be glued to the recipients’ forearms or anything — but at least they’re less likely to be damaged.
Instead of having to secure and protect their personal paperwork, cardholders will be able to use the card to access information specific to them — specific, that is, to their identity.
“Moving to a secure card will save the agency millions, free up resources and ensure information is quickly accessible to DHS officials while reducing the agency’s FOIA backlog,” the ICE spokesperson told Fox. “For provisionally released noncitizens, the digital modernization will provide ongoing access to important immigration documents through the secure card and connected portal.”
“Provisionally released noncitizens,” of course, means illegals. Just in case you’re not fluent in bureaucrat.
Guess what else the “not an official form of federal identification” cards will be used for, though, according to Fox?
“It would also allow for an easier verification of identity through DHS systems via officials,” Fox reported. But it’s not an official federal ID, oh, no. It’s just an ID used by federal officials, which, obviously, is something completely different.
You can decide for yourself how much of that double-speak you want to believe, of course, but personally, I’m withholding judgment.
I guess you could say I’m pre-decisional.
