House Republicans are warning that a plan by the Department of Homeland Security to issue identification cards to undocumented border crossers and other illegal immigrants before their release into the U.S. will cause widespread welfare fraud.
The Obama administration is considering providing illegal immigrants with IDs, according to a Politico report last month. The IDs would be a huge benefit to unlawful immigration, turning the border into little more than a checkpoint before they are permitted to enter American communities.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended the initiative, claiming that it will save the department money while also costing American taxpayers at least $143 billion each year.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security officials, the Republican members of the House Oversight Committee express concerns that the program may enable widespread welfare fraud by border crossers and illegal aliens who would use fake IDs to illegally access public assistance intended for Americans in need.
“The release of ID cards allows for the possibility that unlawful immigrants will misuse them to obtain services such as healthcare, housing, healthcare, and transportation.” The Speaker and other state Republicans have opposed it.
“The Administration is now reported to be preparing yet another dangerous policy that will exacerbate the continuing crisis.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Secure Docket Card initiative has a number of drawbacks. The program appears to be designed so that illegal immigrants may virtually check in with ICE rather than show up in person at an ICE office. According to ICE officials, many immigrants who enroll in Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs do not comply with their obligation to check in with ICE and melt into our communities. “The ATD program’s failure to make sure that illegal immigrants report to ICE is not a justification for giving them identification cards in the hope of improving statistics, but rather an indicator that more of these border crossers need to be detained throughout the duration of their removal proceedings.”
“Also, we are concerned that the identification cards will contain QR codes that connect to court paperwork and personally identifiable information (PII) associated with removal proceedings. This raises security issues as well as concerns about the possibility that significant tax dollars will be wasted on uploading documents and maintaining a secure system.”
Biden has let more than 1 million illegal immigrants and border crossers into the United States during his term in office. This is roughly twice the population of Wyoming and bigger than that of Austin, Texas.
The Biden administration has yet to disclose how many border crossers and illegal immigrants were released into the United States interior from June through July.
