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Home Front: Tech

Analysis: States May Challenge Real I.D

2005-05-16

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

#6 I think we need something like Real-ID to prevent voter fraud. I feel its is a necessary evil.

How much you want to bet Washington State (where the ~~governor~~ former AG was elected by felons, the dead, and imaginary friends) is on the list of states to challenge. Her 'election reform' is to allow any sort of id (utility bills, etc..) to get you a DL and register to vote.

I think the solution here is to tie it to federal funding. No 'real id' no federal funds for transportation, education, etc...

Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-05-16 13:56

#5 I think the Real ID is a past due idea, too. A DL is all you need to register to vote in my state, too, allowing voter fraud, as you only need a utility bill for proof of residency and SS #'s are not required because of ID theft. My mother was born at home on the farm, without a hospital birth certificate, and had a LOT of trouble proving she is an American citizen even after working for most of her 67 years just so she could fly to California or get on Amtrak. Proof of citizenship with biometric guest worker cards would help put the onus of proof on foreigners and protect Americans without using a national ID card.

Posted by: Danielle 2005-05-16 12:50

#4 Frank G: As the "paranoid other who should not be named", allow me to be the first to ask you to not hide behind a pseudonym any more, like a paranoid. We are all friends here. You can trust us, just like you trust the US government. So please, let us know your real name and address. What harm could be in that? Unless, of course, you are nefariously hiding something, like a possible membership in al-Qaeda, or your status as an illegal alien, or your fear that someone might abuse your personal information, which clearly indicates that you are some kind of law violator. Otherwise, we HAVE to assume that you have paranoid delusions, by your own lights. If you can trust the government so very much, you should trust us too. (Personally, I don't want the multitude of layers, departments, offices, bureaus, and bureaucracies of government to know much about me at all, not because of paranoia, but because of the realization that nobody, *nobody*, wants information about you for *your* benefit.) But you might not grasp that, being the trusting type. So I await your unimportant personal information. Will you oblige, or if not, then why?

Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-05-16 12:16

#3 This has got to go through and quickly. I can give a personal example of how nutty State licensing can be.

I was living in England as an expat. My last US address had been California and I had a California license (much like Osama has). I had my wallet stolen in Belgium on a golf trip (another story). I wrote a letter and faxed it to California asking for a replacement (even though it had already expired). Since it was within one year the rules were to give me a replacement. But I no longer lived or had an address in California. My address was in London, England. But that did not deter the DMV in California - they sent me a replacement DL (and within only 10 days!!) with my London, England address on it. I would show it to cop friends when I came back to the states (post 9/11) and they couldn't believe it. So, its possible, Fred, that Osama does have a California DL except the address on it is No. 7 Jamallah Blvd, Peshawar, Pakistan.

Posted by: Jack is Back! 2005-05-16 11:54

#2 Huckabee can STFU - Tyson Chicken, a major amigo to Arkansas is pulling his strings. Motives for opposing (other than the paraoia shown last week on RB by one who shall not be named) should be looked at, hard, for they range from open-borders types who would like to see Atzlan return, Big-business, who put bottom line ahead of national interests, politicians who'll whore for any vote, and the racial hucksters....

Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-16 10:31

#1 Just make the state liable for issuing valid IDs to illegals of any type. If the individual harms another citizen or his/her property while utilizing said ID, then the state is the one who pays [cause the illegal is very unlikely to have the resources to make good]. As soon as the state treasury starts sucking a big one on the already stressed budget for education, health, safety, etc., you bitcha that the states will act quickly to make the MVD something other than the armpit of bureaucratic administration.

Posted by: Jeper Elmeath5805 2005-05-16 09:42

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