ICE to roll out ID card pilot program for illegal aliens

The Biden administration plans to launch a taxpayer-funded pilot program that involves providing 10,000 illegal aliens with identification cards, Fox News Digital reported.

According to the news outlet, the program is slated to roll out this summer. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hopes the plan will modernize its documentation process for removal proceedings.

While still subject to change, the ICE Secure Docket Card initiative will likely be launched in three or four locations, the agency told Fox News Digital. A source informed the news outlet that Houston and Atlanta are two potential options.

'Just in time for the election, the Biden administration is quietly legitimizing a government-sanctioned invasion of our nation.'

ICE insisted that the ID cards are not forms of federal identification but rather a means to "modernize documentation provided to some noncitizens."

"While the specifics of the card and pilot are under development, it is important to note the secure card will not be an official form of federal identification," the agency told Fox News Digital. "The secure card will indicate it is for use by DHS agencies and would be provided only after national security background checks have been performed."

"Moving to a secure card will save the agency millions, free up resources and ensure information is quickly accessible to DHS officials while reducing the agency's FOIA backlog," the agency continued. "For provisionally released noncitizens, the digital modernization will provide ongoing access to important immigration documents through the secure card and connected portal."

Currently, ICE provides illegal aliens released into the country's interior with several paper documents pertaining to their immigration status. The agency noted that such papers pose a security risk, as they can be lost or damaged. The new idea system will allow ICE agents to more easily verify an illegal alien's identity when checked against Department of Homeland Security systems.

RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the ID program will "undoubtedly lead" to illegal aliens "obtaining other documents, benefits and rights — or create an entirely new identity."

"Just in time for the election, the Biden administration is quietly legitimizing a government-sanctioned invasion of our nation," Hauman stated. He noted that most of the illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. arrive without any form of identification.

"So how do we even know who they are?" he questioned.

Leaked pictures of the ID cards show that they will include a photograph and other identifying information.

News broke about the administration's plan to implement ID cards for illegal aliens in 2022. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to ICE's acting director in July 2022 expressing concerns about the program. The committee argued that ICE's ID cards were "intended in part to help illegal immigrants circumvent checking in physically at ICE offices and more easily access benefits within the United States."

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