E-Verify to Lock Theft-ridden SSNs: We Should All Worry

"[I]t appears that the lockdown is a crude tool that will affect the proper owner of the SSN as well as the imposters who have stolen it.  The lockdown apparently will cause anyone-- even the worker to whom the SSN properly is assigned-- to be given a "tentative nonconfirmation" (TNC) that must be resolved at an office of the Social Security Administration (SSA).  While the goal of deterring SSN fraud is laudable, this approach gives rise to serious questions, and USCIS' sudden announcement fails to provide the information and opportunity for comment and consideration that people should expect of a government imposing such burdens.  How will SSA determine who is real?  With hope, the real SSN owner will be able to convince the people in the local SSA office that he is genuine.  USCIS has given no details about how SSA officers will carry out this function, and people must worry if they will be able to prove their identity or face some kind of Orwellian nightmare.  What happens when the real SSN owner then moves to a new job with an employer who uses E-Verify?  Will he have to go through the entire ordeal at SSA again every time he gets hired?  USCIS has not disclosed any mechanism to "lock in" the real SSN owner while locking out imposters.  What if an imposter convinces a SSA worker that he is real while the real SSN owner works away with a longstanding employer and has no awareness of the lockdown?  What will happen when the real SSN owner takes a new job with an E-Verifying employer?  Will he face a heightened standard to dislodge the identity "locked in" by the imposter?" - Robert C. Divine, Nov. 19, 2013.