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Threat of terrorism mandates law-abiding Texans provide full fingerprints for driver licenses

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Are you one of the tens of thousands of law-abiding United States citizens residing in Texas directed to renew your Texas driver license in person?

As a condition of United States citizenship and to maintain lawful driving privilege status, a person who has never been arrested is forced to provide a full set of fingerprints during an in-person driver license renewal:

The Dallas News Watchdog has the story:

Quietly, earlier this year, the Texas Department of Public Safety began requiring full sets of fingerprints from everyone who obtains a new driver’s license or photo identification card. This applies to those who come in as required for periodic renewals, but it doesn’t apply to mail-in renewals.

The surrender of your personal information is not limited to full fingerprints.

Since 2010, Texas has used facial recognition software to match driver’s license photos with government databases looking for persons wanted by law enforcement for various reasons.

According to the Watchdog video, your face is also recorded.

I traced the origins of the image verification mandate back to 2005 where the 79th Legislature and HB 2337 directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to establish an image verification system for driver’s licenses.

Sponsored by former State Senator Staples, the bill required the department to report the error rate of the system to the legislature annually only until 2010. A non record vote was recorded in the House Journal with only two members registering a “no” vote.

Texas Governor Perry’s Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2010-2015 touted the fingerprint identification as a Texas Homeland Security Major Accomplishment for the year 2006.

Additionally the use of facial recognition technology was justified to minimize the abuse of Texas driver’s licenses by criminal and terrorists.

Pardon me, but persons with criminal records who know a full set of fingerprints is required for an in-person renewal or application will just NOT renew  their driver license and will drive without obtaining one.

Of course, credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express have transaction-based and other proprietary fraud-prevention technology designed to detect credit card abuse and they don’t require me to provide ONE fingerprint, let alone a full set of fingerprints.

And the terrorists? Well that’s you and I—law abiding United States citizens residing in Texas, —WE’RE the terrorists required, and without probable cause nor reasonable suspicion, to surrender our full fingerprints & submit to facial recognition software to maintain a lawful driving privilege status.

About Yvonne Larsen

Comments

  1. Janet Thomas says

    Any profession requiring a state license (real estate, plumbing, electrical, etc.) has been required to provide a full set of finger prints for several years

    • Me says

      I’m a licensed pharmacist and have never had to submit fingerprints. Is this a new requirement? My original license was issued in 1996 and renewed via mail or internet since then.

    • Ross says

      I would definitely listen to a bunch of random people on the internet to get information on professional licensing in Texas, rather than contact the licensing board responsible for my profession. After all, the random people on the internet are THE authoritative source for perfect information.

  2. Mainstream says

    My memory is the courts have also upheld requiring DNA swabs from persons arrested, but not convicted, of any crime. Together with cell phone tracking and video cameras operating everywhere, you might expect that the police would have been able to find whoever broke into my house last year, but somehow that is not the way all this works.

  6. Lane says

    I’m surprised the ‘eye test’ device isn’t taking a retina scan, and that the cams in the dps office aren’t logging and analyzing your walk for ‘shadow gait analysis’.

    Several RPT conventions ago, Mr. Dewhurst announced that Texas was going full speed into fedzilla’s ‘RealID’. He garnered some boos but was obviously successful.

    It gives me no solace to know that the individual seated next to me on the plane has ‘govt issued id’; or that everyone entering city hall needs to present such.

    Ten sets for everyone; in the words of nsa, with whom TexGov is sharing this info, ‘grab it all’.

    After all, your local Republicans demand it. Petty tyrants of the left and the right are just the opposite wings of one big, bitchin’ bird of prey that’s pecking at our guts day after day.

    Enough, I believe I’ll mow the weeds. With my epa defying, smoke belching, illegally modified mower.

    Where’s Tea Party on this accelerating police state?