REAL ID

For the past few years, the buzz surrounding REAL ID has remained constant. But how does one sort through the confusion and controversy to get down to brass tacks? While The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does a great job explaining the ins and outs of REAL ID on its site, we thought we’d do the digging for you.

Why REAL ID?

In response to terrorist attacks, the 9/11 Commission suggested the U.S make some major adjustments in the way it issues secure identification documents. The REAL ID Act of 2005 was the answer Congress came to. Aiming to prevent terrorism, DHS states that this nationwide effort will be put in place to “reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of identification documents that state governments issue.” The biggest impact of the Act that we’ll see directly involves one main source of our identification, the driver’s license.

What’s the Latest?

On January 11, 2008 the DHS extended the REAL ID Act’s deadline to May 11, 2011. It marked the second extension in 10 months, underscoring the Act’s lack of support among the states.

Nuts and Bolts of the REAL ID Act

The REAL ID Act mandates that each state issues driver's licenses only to people who can prove either U.S. citizenship or legal alien status using up to four pieces of identification. This includes a certified birth certificate, Social Security card, or passport. Furthermore, each state must digitize the verified ID documents and keep them on file for seven to 10 years, along with digital photos of the license holders. States must keep personal information in a national database that motor vehicle departments across the country could access.

All American drivers would have to renew their licenses by 2013, and those without the new license would need to show a passport or other federally approved ID in order to travel by airplane or enter a federal building.

Many mistake the REAL ID for a national ID card―which it isn’t. In fact, these licenses are not even issued by the federal government. While many states already keep on file the information about all their drivers that is required by the proposed REAL ID regulations, the federal government is not requiring the states to share the license holder info it doesn’t already have.

The Seeds of Controversy

The REAL ID Act, from its inception, has caused opponents’ brains to foam with anger. Wisconsin Congressman, James Sensenbrenner, the REAL ID Act’s author, buried it as a rider in a military spending bill during the early stages of the Iraq War and while 9/11 fervor still festered on the American conscience. To no one’s surprise the bill passed with ease, allowing the REAL ID Act to gain legal status without debate.

Immediate opposition began after President Bush signed the bill into law in 2005. Maine and Utah quickly passed state legislation condemning the Act. Seventeen other states soon followed with non-binding resolutions of their own.

Reasons for Opposition

Cost is one of the main squawks. According to the National Governors Association the REAL ID Act will cost states $11 billion to implement. This includes adding databases and networks, providing supplies to produce new driver's licenses, and educating and training employees.

The other dominant gripe involves individual rights. Opponents hiss that this amounts to a violation of privacy and a near-guarantee that the licenses will become a national ID card. Or, as the Utah legislature charges, the REAL ID Act is “in opposition to the Jeffersonian principles of individual liberty, free markets, and limited government.”

Reasons for Support

Advocates see the license as a necessary antiterrorism measure that will block terrorists from moving freely throughout the country unless they prove legal presence to their state. Otherwise, they would not be able to use their license for federal purposes such as boarding a plane or entering a federal building.

Proponents also see the Act as a way to better verify identification, a method to improve communication between state agencies, and a move toward smart cards that can allow the government to deliver better services over the Internet.

REAL ID and the Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL)

According to DHS, the government is aligning the REAL ID and EDL requirements. The main difference though is that obtaining a REAL ID requires proof of legal status in the U.S., where obtaining an EDL require the applicant to be a U.S. citizen. Furthermore, while the REAL ID will not necessarily include RFID technology, the EDL will. This is because the aim of the EDL is to expedite border crossing and identity verification by border patrols at a port of entry. To read more on the EDL, visit our page titled Enhanced Driver’s License.

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For more detailed information visit the Department of Homeland Security’s Web site.