The Joe Biden administration is developing a new identification card for immigrants that will serve as a unique document to access immigration files and eventually be accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for travel, according to two Homeland Security officials.
The move is part of an ongoing effort by the Biden administration to streamline processes that have often led to confusion among immigrants who are in the process of removal — and comes as officials grapple with increased arrivals at the US-Mexico border. .
Republicans took advantage of the US president’s handling of the country’s southern border and criticized the administration’s immigration policies, such as reducing detentions and limiting immigrant arrests. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department’s latest initiative is also likely to be criticized by some in the Republican Party.
But officials say the card, compared to a photo ID, will make it easier to be accountable in the immigration process. The document – dubbed the “Secure Docket Card” – is expected to include name and nationality, as well as a QR code to access a new portal with relevant immigration information.
This portal is intended to provide a simpler way for individuals to update their information and contact federal authorities as they go through the entry process. The card is also expected to be provided to immigrants in detention.
“Half of the problems migrants have with just being accountable in the process is because we’re not communicating well,” said a DHS official. “People will work smoothly, efficiently and humanely through this process,” he added.
The card can be used as identification, but cannot be used to register to vote. Only US citizens can vote.
Eventually, the card could also be used at airports for travel in the future, said the official. Currently, the Federal Transportation Administration accepts certain immigration documents as valid identification for travel.
“The action is part of a pilot program to modernize various forms of documentation provided to non-citizens provisionally released through a secure, verifiable and consistent card. It will contain a photo, biographical identifiers and state-of-the-art security features for the mutual benefit of the government and non-citizens,” a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Customs said in a statement.
“Specifics of the program are still under development, but a primary goal is to improve current, inconsistent paper forms that often degrade quickly in real-world use. Until the result of the pilot, the government will consider an additional expansion”, adds the text.
A recent report from the House Appropriations Committee report mentioned the program and the $10 million needed to get it off the ground.
The report, which accompanies the Department of Homeland Security’s appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023, describes the idea as allowing “non-citizen access to immigration files and documents.”
The agency plans to test the card by the end of the year, the Homeland Security official noted.
Jeremy McKinney, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), expressed optimism about the card.
“If the Department of Immigration and Customs is acting so that eligible non-citizens can report their status, provide information about their location and address, receive case management support to help them understand and prepare for hearings, without the need for electronic surveillance or cell arrest, AILA welcomes this approach,” McKinney told CNN .
The document will also complement those who are enrolled in “alternatives to detention” (ATD), according to the Department of Homeland Security official.
An increasing number of people have been placed on ATD following a release from detention and the arrival of more immigrants with nationalities that cannot be refused under a pandemic emergency rule instituted in the Trump era.
Migrants released from government custody are still undergoing legal proceedings to determine whether they can remain in the United States or be deported. But the process can take years and involves multiple immigration agencies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is tracking more than 300,000 migrants at ATD, which could include people with GPS anklets or cell phones, an app known as SmartLINK, according to the official.
The card would also allow authorities to verify that an immigrant has been released from custody “and/or charged with being removed from the United States,” according to the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigrant rights advocates have previously argued that expanding alternatives to the detention program creates new problems and raises major privacy concerns over data collection.
While the development of a comprehensive portal is still ongoing, Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst working on privacy issues at the American Civil Liberties Union, noted that, in general, storing personal data in one place increases the risks against privacy.
“It allows bureaucrats to learn more about you, see more about you,” Stanley told CNN .
Source: CNN Brasil

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