Republican Louisiana State Representative, Joe Harrison, has announced plans to introduce a bill to the state legislature that would require non-U.S. citizens to obtain a biometric ID card to be able to legally work in the state, according to a Houma Today article. Harrison filed a bill earlier this year much like the newly announced one, but it never made it out of committee hearings due to high costs of implementation and constitutional issues.
Upon meeting with officials both from his state and from Washington, Harrison is confident his proposal will move through a bit easier due to a plan to piggyback the new proposed system off of a federal system that is to be implemented soon. Additionally, this new plan calls for the system to be Web-based rather than software-based; both of these items are expected to reduce the cost behind his proposal significantly.
Among the data to be included on the ID cards would be country of origin and health status. As Harrison believes that the influx of illegal immigrants is bringing diseases such as tuberculosis to America, he feels the ID cards would be a good tool in stopping the spread of diseases. Other data included on the card would be a fingerprint sample and various other personal information.
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