Immigrant IDs Are a Good Idea

I am so rankled over the ridiculous column by Matthew Cunningham--co-founder of the Conservative Roundtable--(“Proposed ID Cards Threaten Liberty,” March 17) that I’m writing my first letter to the editor.

The points he makes--”illegal immigration will inevitably abate”; we don’t need “massive, intrusive governmental machinery,” including fingerprinting at birth, which Cunningham believes “erodes liberty”; “the argument that the ID card will reduce welfare fraud is unpersuasive”--are all patently wrong!

Clearly, illegal immigration will not abate until the economies of the Third World improve or America gets serious about controlling its borders. And what is so much more “threatening to our liberty” about Californians carrying tamper-proof ID cards than the privacy we already sacrifice to obtain credit cards, drivers’ licenses, Social Security benefits, employment, military service, etc? Cunningham is upset that infants would be fingerprinted at birth--but isn’t the footprinting of newborns already commonplace?

Finally, how can he logically argue that the use of the ID card poses a greater threat to the average Californian than the continuing drain on our resources caused by massive, increasing welfare fraud and other services provided to illegals.

I’m as conservative and freedom-loving as Cunningham, but I want our laws enforced!

CHARLES H. SCHWAB

San Juan Capistrano