Our national security depends on REAL ID: DHS has stated that state-issued identification is an important step toward enhancing national security. Because driver's license serves so many purposes (access to federal buildings, nuclear power plants, boarding aircraft, etc.), terrorists actively seek fraudulent state-issued identification. The REAL ID rules will make it more difficult for them, while making it easier for law enforcement to detect falsified documents.
REAL ID does not create a national database: Authorized DMV officials will be able to verify that an applicant holds only one valid REAL ID. However, REAL ID does not grant the Federal Government or law enforcement greater access to DMV data, nor does it create a national database.
REAL ID is not a federal mandate: The Act does not prevent states from issuing non-compliant REAL ID driver's licenses and state ID cards. Nor are individuals required to obtain a REAL ID card. However, any individual who wants to use a state-issued driver's license or identification card for federal purposes (such as boarding a commercial plane, entering a national park, etc.) after May 11, 2008 (or by the state's extended deadline) must present a REAL ID-compliant card.
No debate in Congress: The Act was adopted without a separate vote and with virtually no debate. Because it was attached to a military spending bill, opponents point out that the issue has not been fully researched and discussed.
Privacy violations: Although DHS states that the Act does not create a national database, civil liberties advocates and others are concerned about the risks associated with an inter-state system of personal information storage, including privacy loss and identity theft.
The expense: Homeland Security initially estimated the cost of REAL ID to be $23 million over 10 years. In 2008, it scaled back that estimate to $9 billion; still a relatively expensive program to implement.
It is a burden on state governments: Although DHS has made available $361 million in grants (FY06-FY08) to assist states with REAL ID implementation, the majority of the financial burden still rests on cash-strapped states. In addition, these governments are overwhelmed with complying with REAL ID regulations including remaking driver's licenses, restructuring databases and other systems, and putting a process in place to validate every piece of identification documentation presented at its DMVs.
It does not solve national security issues: Opponents of REAL ID argue that terrorists and others with bad intentions will always be able to find ways to falsify identity documents. Passports, even with all of its inherent security measures are still obtained fraudulently; REAL ID cards will be no different.
Where It Stands
As of December 2008, 21 states had rejected REAL ID and passed legislation against implementation of REAL ID, passed resolutions denouncing REAL ID or introduced anti-REAL ID legislation. DHS has moved deadlines and offered extensions in a bid to gain state support, but it has yet to find any.
You should be concerned about REAL ID, especially if you're an immigrant. The same agency that has been the butt of jokes for years is thrust into a federal government enforcement role as it struggles to verify immigration status. Do you think that average DMV representative is up-to-date with current immigration rules? If you show up with an expired green card and extension notice to apply for a REAL ID card, will the representative know that this is valid proof of legal residence? Or will immigrants who provide non-standard documents be subjected to a frustrating cause of bureaucratic run-around? If a DMV representative is unconvinced of the legality of your identification documents, one wonders what their comments will say on your federal file. Do legal aliens run the risk of being branded as illegal immigrants if a DMV representative cannot verify their identification? The implications of a national-database-that-is-not-a-national-database are staggering.
Source: DHS.gov
