Commentary byWarner M. MontgomeryWarner@TheColumbiaStar.com

Big Government response to a problem is sometimes like throwing the baby out with the bath water. In the case of fighting illegal immigration, Big Government plans to throw the illegal immigrant out with our right to privacy and freedom of movement.

The plan to fight illegal immigration is the Real ID Act. You will have to receive Big Government's "mark" if you want to engage in commerce, get a job, cash a check, open an account, buy cigarettes or alcohol, or purchase a gun. You must also have the "mark" if you want to board a train, a plane, or drive an automobile. Without "your papers" you will essentially be a stranded, non- person, unable to travel from point A to point B.

This reminds me of traveling through the Soviet Union before 1990 or in dictatorial countries in the Third World. At every point of government contact, one is required to "dash" a government official or suffer arrest and detention. More restrictions always lead to more corruption.

These Real ID cards will be an invasion of privacy and a rash of identity theft. They will be used by the government to track your every moment with Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID). These RFID chips are already being inserted in everything. And already they are being cloned by identity thieves.

When this program fails, and it certainly will, Big Government will respond by pouring more money into it. Additional privacy invasion measures will be implemented "to make it work." The obvious solution to initiating and expanding this terrible program is to admit defeat now and close it down. Tighter controls over the general population will never squeeze out the criminal; they will only deprive the American citizen of his rights to privacy and movement.