Advocates of tougher immigration law enforcement have been pushing the Social Security Administration to come up with a tamper-proof Social Security Card in order to prevent counterfeiting and the use of such counterfeit cards by illegal aliens to find work. The SSA has responded by warning that such a tamper-resistant card could cost taxpayers billions of dollars and force all Americans to visit government offices to re-register.

The SSA has been evaluating a number of options for making tougher plastic cards that would contain more information than the current ones. The new cards may include raised lettering (like credit cards)and a photo of the cardholder. Magnetic stripes may also be added that could store information including a person's fingerprint.

To produce such a card, the SSA estimates expenses in the range of $3.9 billion to $9.2 billion. The SSA would need to charge between $19 and $38 a card if it were to cover its costs. And if Congress wanted the cards to be an official proof of citizenship, the SSA states that every current card holder would have to provide such evidence before a new card is issued. And this would raise the very controversial question of whether the Social Security Cards would become a national identity card.