E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Analysis: States May Challenge Real I.D
States are angry about new standards Congress has set for verifying the identity of driver's-license applicants, and some governors are considering a challenge. Under the Real ID Act states will have three years to comply with the new requirements after President George W. Bush signs it into law, which he is expected to do soon. If they don't agree, their licenses would not be accepted as identification by the federal government.

The driver's-license provisions were strongly opposed by the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and several civil-rights groups. The author, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., argued the additional hassle of verification was a small price to pay to ensure that terrorists can't use licenses for identification as they did in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "The REAL ID is vital to preventing foreign terrorists from hiding in plain sight while conducting their operations and planning attacks," he said. "By targeting terrorist travel, the REAL ID will assist in our war on terror efforts to disrupt terrorist operations and help secure our borders."
To me, that makes sense, given the propensity we've seen of Paks and Yemenis to knock out false passports for every occasion...
The Senate gave final passage to the provisions as an attachment to an $82 million funding bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation passed the House last week. Critics have called the legislation an effort to enlist state authorities as immigration police, which they say is a federal responsibility. Others have called it the first step toward a national identification card. In his reaction, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, vice chairman of the governors association, said they were concerned about the federal legislation, which enters an area of responsibility that has been the state's alone for more than 100 years. "This could force entry-level state employees to do the work of INS agents while requiring states to enforce federal immigration laws the federal government doesn't have the will to enforce," he said.
Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 2005-05-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=119248