Are US Planning Internal Passports?

I don't think I have seen this discussed on here yet but apologies in advance if it has.

I have seen a few articles over the last few months that mention the possible introduction of a "Soviet" style internal passport system where US citizens would have to provide, upon request, documentation for ID, travel etc. An example is below :

seattlepi.nwsource.com...

I didn't know whether to take this seriously at first but with the Department of Homeland Security hiring consultants such as Yevgeni Primakov (ex KGB chief) and Markus Wolfe (ex East German STASI chief), you have to wonder what they are up to

www.indybay.org...
www.impeach-bush-now.org...



[edit on 19-1-2005 by Britguy]

The simple fact that each state in America has their own separate Identification cards is a form of an 'internal passport'.

Besides, US citizens have to provide their ID upon request anyway. Nothing new here.

Originally posted by Simulacra
The simple fact that each state in America has their own separate Identification cards is a form of an 'internal passport'.

Besides, US citizens have to provide their ID upon request anyway. Nothing new here.

U.S. citizens don't have to show any ID on demand unless you're driving a car or wanting access to a secured area such as an airport or government building. I think all this 'internal passport' rubbish is just an exaggeration of plans to make federal guidelines for driver's licenses since our system is a mess right now with illegals getting them left and right.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
U.S. citizens don't have to show any ID on demand unless you're driving a car or wanting access to a secured area such as an airport or government building.

If a U.S. citizen fails to provide ID then they can be detained until they can prove their identity.

Originally posted by Simulacra

Originally posted by djohnsto77
U.S. citizens don't have to show any ID on demand unless you're driving a car or wanting access to a secured area such as an airport or government building.

If a U.S. citizen fails to provide ID then they can be detained until they can prove their identity.

You guys arent meeting on this one. Sim, you are stating if you DONT provide when asked, djohnsto77 is stating that you SHOULDNT be asked unless certain circumstances apply.

Robert Heinlein, in his :"Notebooks of Lazarus Long" from the Novel Time Enough for Love, said it best:

"When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere."

As far as I understand it, you are required to present a valid drivers license if requested and you are operating a vehicle, thats something the SCOTUS decided so it applies everywhere.

Many jurisidctions make vagrancy a crime, defined as not having either some sum of money on you or not having a valid ID.

of course, the idea is kind of silly, since children aren't issued IDs, and I'd suspect that its been a long time since anyone who wasn't an actual bum was held on that sort of charge.

What I found interesting was not the idea of an "internal passport" so much as the people they are hiring as consultants. Ex STASI and KGB chiefs whose expertise is in the oppression and control of populations, not the individual freedoms. I have seen a few articles mentioning that even back in 1996/97, Primakov was being barred from entry to the US as he was labelled a terrorist.


Changing times I guess and it'll be interesting to see what measures they come up with as time goes by.

This has been previously posted on ATS in the following thread:

Bush Admin Hiring of Ex-KGB Chiefs to Develop Internal Passport

Thread Closed