Homeland Security Says States Must Comply with Real ID Act by January 15, 2013

Politicians have finally found something — immigration — that scares enough people to make us submit to REAL ID and E-Verify. Some people who say they want to shrink the federal state just as much as we do, still support E-Verify. They claim this new dictate is needed to combat illegal immigration. We seem to be “heretics” in this case because we believe…

• E-Verify is a disease far worse than that which it seeks to cure; in fact…
• Illegal immigration is NOT the “problem” many politicians and pundits claim it to be.

That second bullet point may stun you. You may reject it immediately, or find it hard to believe. But we do NOT make this claim lightly. We base it on what we think is good evidence and reasoning. If you’re tempted to reject our position please take a moment to consider our evidence and arguments. You can always decide against us if you find our case unconvincing. James Wilson presents our analysis in an essay at the Downsize DC Foundation website.

But, even if you support strong immigration restrictions, E-Verify is still a terrible proposal. It infringes on YOUR right to work, injures small business, and encourages identity theft.

Liberty Maven

DHS to States: The REAL ID Deadline Is Next January, Period

March 21, 2012

PRNewswire-USNewswire - David Heyman, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Policy, today confirmed that DHS "has no plans to extend" the REAL ID deadline for state compliance, set as January 15, 2013.

Coalition for a Secure Driver's License (CSDL) President, Brian Zimmer, said,

"The Department of Homeland Security today sent a clear message to the seven states that have done little or nothing to meet the rules. It's their last opportunity to get on board with the REAL ID rules or face consequences."

"States that are meeting REAL ID rules know that it will be business as usual for their citizens with regard to boarding planes and access to federal facilities next January," said Zimmer. "The governors in states with driver's license processes falling below the mark should take heed. It would be a good idea for those governors to alert their residents that the driver's licenses in their pockets won't be acceptable IDs beginning next year. This will provide time for residents of states like Montana and Oklahoma to apply for U.S. Passports so they won't be inconvenienced."

Assistant Secretary Heyman, speaking before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security today, testified that a guidance document will be provided to the states within a couple of weeks.

Subcommittee Chairman Sensenbrenner said he was "pleased to hear today that overdue DHS guidance to the states is forthcoming and that there are no further plans for delaying implementation."

Brian Zimmer applauded Congressman Sensenbrenner as the champion of REAL ID and said,

"I am encouraged that the Department of Homeland Security will be offering REAL ID regulatory guidance to the states in the next few weeks. However, I believe DHS needs to get serious about REAL ID. It is time DHS assign personnel and resources to get the job done. REAL ID is no longer a policy matter, the REAL ID debate is over. REAL ID is now part of DHS' ongoing operations."

CSDL submitted testimony for the record with three recommendations: DHS needs to:

(1) establish a permanent office to work with the states and other agencies because REAL ID is a permanent program;
(2) send clear direction to the Federal Protective Service and the Transportation Security Administration so those agencies have time to establish how the deadline will be enforced; and
(3) provide direction to the Transportation Security Administration to deploy a greater number of electronic document scanners at airports to accelerate inspection of REAL ID compliant IDs and to expose imposters."

For the CSDL's recommendations, go to http://secure-license.org/category/category/csdl-testimony

About the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License:

The Coalition for a Secure Driver's License is a 501 (c) (3) non-partisan, not for profit, crime prevention education public charity, supported by donor contributions from across the United States.

The CSDL slogan, "Working to protect the identity of every American," embodies our commitment to higher standards for both government and private entities that issue identity credentials, especially state agencies that issue driver's licenses and ID cards. CSDL undertakes research projects addressing best practices for DMVs, compliance with federal laws and regulations, identity fraud prevention and related identity management topics. CSDL provides research results and educational programs to the public and to state and federal officials. CSDL is a member of the Document Security Alliance and the American National Standards Institute.

Details are available on CSDL's website at www.secure-license.org.

SOURCE Coalition for a Secure Driver's License

Flashback: Homeland Security Gives States More Time to Comply with Real ID Act

December 19, 2009

Washington Post - The Obama administration will abandon a Dec. 31 deadline for states to tighten security requirements for driver’s licenses, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Friday.

Delaying the requirement, which faces opposition from governors and Senate Republicans over how it should be implemented, jeopardizes an immigration and security measure adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But it also removes concerns that tens of thousands of holiday travelers could have been subjected to heightened airport security checks if they lacked the new licenses.

Under a controversial 2005 domestic security program passed by Congress and known as Real ID, states were required to issue more secure licenses by the end of 2009. Those would be the only licenses accepted by federal officials for such purposes as boarding commercial aircraft. Instead, states now have until May 11, 2011, to comply with Real ID, Napolitano said.

“In order to ensure that the millions of Americans traveling this holiday season are not disrupted, DHS is extending the Dec. 31 REAL ID material compliance deadline,” Napolitano said in a written statement.

States have balked at what governors called an unfunded, $4 billion federal mandate by Congress, and what civil liberties groups criticized as a de facto national ID.

After opponents fought the Bush administration to a standstill, Obama security officials and governors jointly asked Congress last spring to replace Real ID with a new program called Pass ID, which would cost half as much, be less stringent and come with federal grants.

That plan would give states five years to include in their IDs a digital photograph and machine-readable features such as a bar code. It would also require states to verify applicants’ identities and legal status by checking federal immigration, Social Security and State Department databases and original birth certificate records.

It would add stronger privacy controls than contained in the Real ID program and drop a demand for new databases.

Supporters hoped the year-end deadline would push Congress to approve Pass ID. But opponents refused to yield, with some Republicans accusing the administration of gutting the earlier plan and backsliding on security. Privacy groups continue to fight what they have called a “Real ID-lite.”

“Any attempt to implement PASS ID will harm national security,” Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) wrote in a Dec. 14 letter to several colleagues.

“Key senators have called DHS’s bluff, and the agency has once again blinked,” American Civil Liberties Union officials wrote in a blog recently, noting that under Bush, DHS extended a previous deadline of May 2008 in the face of similar opposition.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said that until heath-care legislation is passed, he could not spare the time to overcome procedural blocks that several Senate Republicans had anonymously placed on the ID measure. With Congress set to leave soon for its winter break, Napolitano and governors retreated, leaving the future of the changes in doubt.

On Thursday, Republican Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont, chairman of the National Governors Association, and Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, vice chairman, asked Napolitano to waive the deadline. DHS said 46 states are not in compliance with the requirements, and 13 have passed laws refusing to participate.

“Our citizens should not be punished for the failings of Real ID and the inability of Congress to act,” the governors wrote.

Roger Dow, head of the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group, said its members were pleased that the government did not allow the battle to tie up “the way the economy moves or how Americans travel,” by potentially forcing residents of the 46 states to go through added airport screening.

Napolitano urged Congress “to address systemic problems with the REAL ID Act to advance our security interests over the long term.” She said her agency was “committed to moving forward to implement this key 9/11 Commission recommendation.”

The commission recommended tougher federal standards for driver’s licenses and birth certificates. Eighteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers obtained state IDs, some of them fraudulently, easing their movements inside the country.

Lobbyists said that some GOP lawmakers may be delaying action on the ID security measure because they oppose the Obama administration’s upcoming push for an immigration overhaul, and want to combine the issues. Analysts said that combining the two measures could complicate prospects for both. That was the case in 2007, the last time the Senate tried and failed to approve an immigration overhaul.