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.