Does ID Theft Weigh-In On Immigration Debate?

by Sue B. Martines J.D. and Michael McCoy M.Sc.

“It’s a black and white issue,” the gal next to me on the plane volunteers, as she peers over at the newspaper article I’m reading about Arizona’s latest immigration law battle. And then it taints my entire train of thought -- is it as simple as that? Is it as simple as saying someone is either lawfully in this country or they’re not? Is it that you either jumped through the justice hoops and got it done or you need to go back from whence you came?

Foregoing the more esoteric consideration, perhaps, about whether borders are indeed a necessity, when identity theft is factored into the immigration debate, how can it ever be black and white? The July 16, 2010 USA Today article discusses how immigration is re-entering the national debate and is back in the spotlight for November’s races. But nowhere is identity theft addressed in the article.

And yet, there are dozens of websites where anyone with $20 and a credit card can buy a fake ID. You gotta wonder upon what document is the “sending one back from whence they came” based?

If an illegal immigrant turns into an identity thief by buying a Social Security number in order to remain in the U.S., and it’s happening at an alarming rate, then is there an additional argument in favor of such laws being looked at in Arizona – where immigration is reviewed with nearly every bust?

A Center for Immigration Studies article cites that approximately 75 percent of working-age illegal aliens use fraudulent Social Security cards to obtain employment. (And that was in 2009.)

Understandably, regardless of which end of the potentially black and white immigration spectrum one stands, there cannot be a laundry list of potential crimes to be evaluated with every charge, but identity theft needs to be factored into the mix somehow. In fact, if identity theft doesn’t weigh-in now, the immigration issues we’re facing may never really get addressed.