Washington, DC, May 24, 2007 -

U.S. Representative John Carter (R, Round Rock), House Republican Conference Secretary, has proposed three bills that call for greater protections for social security numbers in order to deter illegal immigration. The Social Security Card Fortification Act, the Social Security Number Non-Proliferation Act and the Social Security Protection Act will help prevent illegal immigrants from using fraudulent citizenship documentation to gain employment in the United States.

“It is shocking that our most personal and private means of identification, our social security numbers, are only proven by a two by three inch piece of paper,” said Congressman Carter. “These bills do far more than protect each person’s nine identifying digits, however; they are another line of defense against illegal immigrants being able to take refuge in the United States. With the protection against forgery and theft these bills would offer, they ensure that people who present social security cards as a means of identification are indeed legal residents of our country. These bills will provide a meaningful step toward true immigration reform.”

The Social Security Card Fortification Act directs the Social Security Administration to provide technologically updated and secure social security cards, in place of the vulnerable paper card system that has existed for generations. Specifically, the bill calls that the cards:

• Be made of tamperproof and wear-resistant material;
• Be designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the card for fraudulent purposes;
• Be issued so as to preclude the issuance of the card to persons who are ineligible to receive a card;
• Display a digital image of the person to whom the social security account number was issued and the date on which that image was captured; and
• Contain an encrypted biometric electronic record that identifies to whom the card is issued.

The Social Security Number Non-Proliferation Act prohibits the sale, purchase and public display of social security numbers, currently all legal activities. In particular, the bill:

• Prohibits the sale, purchase, and public display of the Social Security numbers, whether over the Internet or in person;
• Makes it illegal to obtain or use any individual’s Social Security number for the purpose of locating or identifying the individual with the intent to harm or injure; and
• Requires that a person who has Social Security numbers in their possession (for business purposes) follow certain safeguards in order to protect those Social Security numbers.

The Social Security Protection Act will prohibit illegal aliens from receiving Social Security benefits for time they were in the country illegally. Specifically, the bill:

• Prohibits Social Security from paying out benefits to any U.S. citizen for wages earned while said Citizen was illegally in the United States; and
• Instructs the Commissioner of Social Security to recompute all existing benefits to account for any Social Security taxes paid while working without authorization. This language will not require repayment of benefits already paid at the previous rate.