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REAL ID Would Bolster National Security
The REAL ID Act, which was signed into law May 11, 2005, sets Federal standards for the issuance of driver’s licenses and requires aliens to prove their "legal presence" in the United States. Among its critical reforms, REAL ID requires the expiration date of a temporary foreign visitor's driver's license to coincide with the visa expiration date, thereby strengthening the integrity of the driver's license as a form of identification. REAL ID also includes provisions to prevent terrorists from gaming our asylum system.
The 9/11 Commission’s report stated, "The federal government should set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification, such as drivers' licenses." REAL ID was designed to close key loopholes that make the country vulnerable to attack.
The 19 terrorists who murdered almost 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001, had dozens of state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. They used these IDs to board the airplanes they turned into weapons as well as to rent cars and apartments, open bank accounts, take flying lessons, and otherwise blend into American society while they planned their attacks.
REAL ID establishes minimum standards for the issuance of driver's licenses and ID cards that states must meet if these documents are to be recognized by the Federal government as secure proof of identity – a critical step in improving national security. Moreover, by making a visitor’s license expire when his/her visa expires, REAL ID cracks down on the ability of visa overstayers – like two of the 9/11 terrorists – to drive.
It is important to note that REAL ID does NOT create a national ID card – to the contrary,9/11 Families for a Secure America  believes REAL ID may be the only real way to avoid a national ID card in the post-9/11 world. That is because REAL ID removes a key tool terrorists used to attack us, and does so within the context of current state licensure guidelines. The law, which specifically precludes creation of a national ID card, does not create a national database of driver’s licenses. REAL ID also provides an alternative to a national ID card that could be used to fight illegal immigration – an employer can use a secure REAL ID license to verify a person’s eligibility to work in the United States. REAL ID licenses have a further benefit for U.S. citizens wanting to travel to Canada or Mexico starting on January 1, 2008 when passports are required for such travel: the license can be used as an alternative to a passport.
Since enactment, REAL ID has been under attack from some quarters. States complain that it would be too expensive to implement. Congress has provided funding for implementation, but states claim the amounts-to-date have been inadequate. The Bush Administration did not help matters by excluding implementation funding from its FY 2008 budget proposal. While NumbersUSA considers the states’ implementation cost estimates to be grossly overstated, they are correct about one thing: our national security requires that REAL ID implementation be adequately funded.
Rather than take the lead in helping states to acquire more resources for REAL ID implementation, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine) introduced legislation (S. 563 and H.R. 1117, respectively) on February 13 to delay its implementation by two years.
Their bills also would establish a negotiated-rulemaking process (in the case of Collins’ bill, reinstate a disbanded process) to develop Federal driver's license and ID standards and it would broaden DHS’ authority to waive certain provisions for state compliance with REAL ID.
Collins, who chaired the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee when REAL ID was passed in 2005, and Allen may have taken this step because their state recently approved a non-binding resolution against the law. It is, however, a potentially dangerous setback that NumbersUSA strongly opposes, particularly in this fragile post-9/11 world.
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