Government Seeks up to 34 Million Green Cards-Truth! &  Fiction!

Government Seeks up to 34 Million Green Cards-Truth! & Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:

The federal government has solicited bids for up to 34 million blank ID cards to produce green cards and employment authorization documentation (EAD) cards ahead of possible future immigration initiatives.
 

The Truth:

This eRumor is a combination of fact and fiction.

It’s true that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) solicited bids for up to 34 million blank ID cards on October 3, 2014. The bid is for “card consumables” that will be used to make green cards and employment authorization documentation cards over a five-year period.

However, the claim that the blank ID cards are needed because an influx in new U.S. citizens will follow planned executive action on immigration reform is false.

I

mmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Press Secretary Christopher Bentley told TruthorFiction.com that projections for the number of ID cards needed were made in the spring 2013. At the time, the Senate was considering comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The Senate approved the bill in July 2013, but the House of Representatives didn’t act on it, the Washington Post reports

“What you see in the new contract, there is a range of new possibilities that we may need,” Bentley said. “It starts at a baseline of 4 million and goes up to about 9 million.”

A USCIS Request for Proposal (RFP) outlines a possible 9.4 million yearly “surge” in demand for blank ID cards. Bentley said the “surge capacity” would enable federal agencies to enact the immigration reform bill that is awaiting final approval.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest also dismissed claims that the cards were sought ahead of forthcoming immigration reform, the Washington Times reports.

“There are decisions that are made by lots of agencies, including the ordering of specific colored sheets of paper,” Earnest said. “Those sorts of decisions are not micromanaged by the White House.”

Posted  10/24/14