As mentioned in the last article, the Feds are trying to ratchet up the punishment for states which refuse to implement the Real National ID that they slipped into a bill last year. Their latest trick is to declare that if you are a citizen of a state that rejects Real National ID, you won’t be able to legally hold a job. (Of course, preventing innocents from supporting themselves is unconstitutional, violating a fundamental freedom that existed before the Constitution, but don’t expect the quisling courts to save you.) Montana’s legislature decisively rejected Real National ID, and its two senators have offered Senate Amendment 1236 to the pending Senate immigration bill, S. 1348. The amendment would strip out all the Real National ID provisions from the immigration bill. This will be voted up or down on the Senate floor on Thursday, June 7, 2007.

Please call both of your Senators and ask them to vote FOR this amendment 1236 that removes Real ID from the immigration bill. Real ID — National ID — is a terrible, dangerous idea, and the Senate should repeal it rather than penalizing citizens of states that choose not to participate.

The objectionable provision is hidden on page 222-223 of this 790-page bill. It’s in Section 274A. Section (a)(1)(B) makes it unlawful “to hire, or to recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in the United States an individual unless such employer meets the requirements of subsections (c) and (d).” Subsection (c), “Document verification requirements”, requires “the employer shall attest, under penalty of perjury and on a form prescribed by the Secretary, that the employer has verified the identity and eligibility for employment of the individual by examining a document described in sub-paragraph (B).” (c)(1)(B) defines “Identification documents”: “(i) in the case of an individual who is a national of the United States– (I) a United States passport; or (II) a driver’s license or identity card issued by a State, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or an outlying possession of the United States that satisfies the requirements of division B of Public Law 109-13 (119 Stat. 302).” Division B of PL 109-13 is the Real ID Act. Put that all together — if an employer doesn’t see your Real ID driver’s license (or a passport), it’s unlawful for them to hire you.