Should the US have a national biometric ID card?

All the troops returning from the middle east are going to need work, line them up at the border. Would be cheaper than biometric id. The problem with that is the gov't wants to control us, not the border.

Alas and unfortunate for all.  The problem is that you are in a sort of conflict of interests, and you will need to solve what amounts to be a sort of decision matrix of multiple issues all at once, rather than a single, simple solutiomn to a single issue of problem.:

We have a national influx of "illegal aliens".  Folks come HERE for about 2 reasons - a JOB and a BETTER LIFE, than they had at home.  Cannot blame them.  BUT we do have a LEGAL process whereby one can get in and become a citizen and gain those perks of being an "American".  ALL those who get here illegally are, by definition, illegally HERE, and now need to leave.   So we want to  - NEED TO - solve the "illegals here" problem.

Sad to have to admit it, but, as long as 1) we cannot physically keep them outside the border, 2) generally want them "out", and 3) don't seem to want to allow police to collect them and deport them without something near to every "process due a citizen" - we have a problem.

The answer is either make it VERY VERY COSTLY for anyone to HIRE them here, or ... IDENTIFICATION.  And acting on the LACK of same.  As we seem unwilling to make it COSTLY for US businesses to hire illegals - like maybe fining them 1000 per day per illegal hire???, I guess we need to address the matter through requiring less-forgeable ID.  We already need to identify ourselves to get on airplanes and indeed to get into many buildings, etc. So, while nice and traditional-sounding​ and quaint and "back in the G.O.D.", argument against a national ID is really pretty lame.  (NO, this does not mean that I LIKE the idea of needing such a card - but I do recognize that we will need to have SOMETHING)

But you cannot have it all ways.  It's really pretty much "folks must have a valid ID to get a job here" or you cannot effectively weed-out the illegals.  And this ID needs to be something which is hard to forge, as we have any number of clever and capable sorts looking for a new opportunity - and forgery of documents has been a big and diverse industry for a long time!  A National card may, sadly, be the ticket.

The state of New Mexico gives D.L. to illegals and because of that the citizens of New Mexico will probably have to get passports to travel by air to other parts of the USA.  Homeland Security has given them a 6 month reprieve before this will happen. Susanna Martinez, a Republican, is trying to get this law changed, but the majority ruling democrats are fighting her.  Think about it, American citizens forced to get passports to travel by air WITHIN  their OWN country, because illegals are given a driver liscense.

How can a country sink so low so fast?

People are seriously considering requiring citizens of the land of the free (hah!) and the home of the brave to carry an ID so that they can ask Big Brother's permission to work.  What a shame.

If the government made half an attempt to enforce the current laws, we wouldn't have an immigration problem.  Most people working illegally are using fake IDs that are easily spotted at the Federal government level.  When one SSN has 50 jobs paying taxes through it, it's time to visit their employers.  Arrest the "workers" for fraud and deport them.  You don't have to prosecute the employers - just don't allow them to deduct the wages paid to illegals as an otherwise legitimate business expense.

I would think that this type of thing would only have merit if stricter immigration laws were enacted and enforced, because of the implications regarding the federal government keeping tabs on American Citizens.  Now this may sound paranoid but ask yourselves; if there is no intent to enforce or enhance immigration laws and stem the flow of illegal aliens entering and residing in this country, then what would be the purpose of registering American Citizens in this fashion?

Again, not to be a nay sayer, however,  there are many things the Federal Government is allowed to do that the public is not acutely aware of, for instance: Do you know that the Federal Government has 22 months to correct any finance errors that they have made.  This means that if you have had money withheld by the Federal Government for a tax refund or Social Security, or virtually any other reason, by the Federal Government, then the government has 22 months to rectify the situation before they are required by law to release those funds to you; most citizens are not aware of this.  I only mention this example of Federal Government legal entitlement because it makes me wonder what rights or latitude the Federal Government might have granted itself regarding tracking a persons identity for whatever purpose they see fit.  Having a card such as this and having it be required of all citizens would certainly make tracking any individuals movements much easier to accomplish.  In the future legislation could be enacted to require citizens to present their card for a multitude of things such as loans, the purchase of homes, automobile purchases, opening banks accounts; and the list is endless.  This would mean that the Federal Government would be able to track all citizens daily lives quite easily.  We would then, probably need to ask ourselves; is this something that we want, a can of worms that we want to open?