The problem is that it is easy to duplicate or steal and they are hard to verify.
That is going to be the same if we create another "card". Adding more red tape is not the answer.
That will be the case no matter WHAT kind of feel good "card" they issue.
As Oldbrowser observes, the Social Security card is easy to fake, and the SSN should be kept privileged so limit ID theft.
But I do have a very secure form of ID that I think people should be given the option of obtaining an equivalent form ...
I have a DoD military ID, and it has fingerprint ID information, plus other information on a small chip in the ID.
Travelers who would LIKE to clear TSA security faster should be given some accelerated screening if they have an ID card like the DoD ID.
Having secure ID that is hard to counterfit, and is hard to obtain fraudulantly is an excellent step forward. There is nothing that suggests once these type IDs are available that the government then will start asking "your papers, please" (with sarcasm dripping when "please" is said).
There is a big difference between having secure IDs that mean something, and requiring "internal passports". The first I want to see, the second ... I don't. But then again, if the INS agents sweep through a factory looking for illegals to deport .... why should we make it easier for the illegals to hide?
Mike