Jimenez and Krikorian debating Real ID

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Los Angeles Times
February 7, 2008
Do you want more unlicensed drivers?
By Tomás R. Jiménez

The Real ID Act of 2005 created a uniform set of standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs required for entering federal facilities, boarding airplanes and entering nuclear power plants. What may appear to be a reasonable plan has lots of devilish details that do nothing to change our broken immigration system while making life miserable for states and American drivers. In fact, 17 states have already rejected Real ID because of the costs and problems related to it.

The law is partly designed to ensure that terrorists can't harm us by requiring all individuals applying for a driver's license to show proof of identity and legal residency. The logic goes like this: If the terrorists can't get ID cards, and people without a standardized ID can't get on planes or enter federal facilities and nuclear power plants, then we are preventing terrorists from hitting us again. But this assumes a lot about the relationship between undocumented immigration and terrorism. It also assumes that we know whether someone is a terrorist or not.

Let's imagine that Real ID was in place on 9/11. Would it have prevented the 19 hijackers from boarding those four planes? No. The hijackers had legal documentation that would have allowed them to get driver's licenses even under the provisions of Real ID. Terrorist organizations are vast, complex, highly trained and well funded. They have the resources and know-how to make some of the best forged documents in the world or recruit people who can get valid documents. This is not to say that we should just give up, but we certainly shouldn't be fooled into thinking that new documents are going to fully protect us.

Only adding to the ridiculousness of the law is the fact that we'll end up having to trust DMV workers to make important national security decisions, like whether or not someone's documents are valid. If you think waiting in line at the DMV is bad now, wait until you have to get your Real ID.

Real ID is not going to solve our immigration problems either. Requiring proof of legal residency for a Real ID doesn't mean that undocumented immigrants will stop driving or "self deport." Only seven states allow undocumented immigrants to have a license, and yet undocumented immigration continues. The Real ID law does allow states the option of issuing licenses solely for the use of driving, but licenses must clearly state the limits of their use. Since only those without legal documentation are likely to ask for such a "driver's license-only card," these licenses might as well have "undocumented immigrant" emblazoned on them. Talk about a disincentive.

Wouldn't we actually be safer if more, not fewer people had a driver's license? Of course we would. A license certifies that an individual has taken a driver's training course and has met a minimum standard of driving know-how. Unlicensed drivers, on the other hand, have no formal training and are thus generally more dangerous behind the wheel. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, unlicensed drivers are five times more likely to be in a fatal crash than unlicensed drivers. So much for keeping us safe.

Furthermore, unlicensed drivers are uninsured, raising premiums for the rest of us. States that have expanded access to driver's licenses regardless of legal status have seen dramatic improvements in the rate of insurance coverage. New Mexico reduced its uninsured rate from 33% in 2002 to just 10.6% in 2007. Likewise, Utah reduced the proportion of uninsured drivers from 10% in 1998 to 5.1% in 2007.

In the end, we have a law that thickens the bureaucratic process involved in getting a license and does nothing to change our broken immigration system. In fact, this effort at protection may very well wind up accomplishing quite the opposite.

Tomás R. Jiménez is an assistant professor of sociology at UC San Diego and a fellow at the New America Foundation.

I want my Real ID
By Mark Krikorian

Tomás:

Every modern society requires a system of identification — there's simply no way to avoid that in a large, urbanized nation where few people live and work in the same community with the same neighbors their whole lives.

In most countries, that need for ID is filled by the central government with some form of national identification card. America's more decentralized experience has led to a different result — a patchwork system of state driver's licenses serving as our de facto national ID system.

The goal of the Real ID Act is to set some minimum federal standards for this decentralized arrangement, like requiring that states verify the identity and legal status of people being issued licenses (and you thought we did that already!). This is in part to avoid the need for a national ID card, which would not only be costly and time-consuming to set up from scratch, but is also fiercely opposed by many Americans. The 9/11 Commission called for such federal standards, noting that, among other things, seven of the IDs obtained by the 9/11 hijackers were obtained using false claims of residence in Virginia. The Real ID Act was an outgrowth of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, buttressed by input from the American Assn. of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Opposition to these common-sense standards comes from two sources, one legitimate, one not. First, some states are whining about money, concocting hilariously inflated cost estimates for compliance with the new law. Congress has responded by stretching out the deadlines somewhat and providing some additional funding for genuine state needs — this makes perfect sense.

The second objection to the law's standards comes from those who want to ensure that illegal immigrants are able to continue embedding themselves in American society. Thus, driver's licenses for illegal immigrants serve as a form of de facto amnesty for illegals, incorporating them into the institutions of our society and making any congressional action on legalization a mere formality.

Making amnesty a fait accompli is also the rationale behind the Mexican government's push to have its illegal-immigrant ID card, the Matricula Consular, recognized by as many banks and police departments s possible.

Denying ID to those who have no right to be here isn't some magic bullet that will make all illegals go home overnight. But it is critical to any larger strategy to that end. By making it as hard as possible to live here illegally — combined with more conventional enforcement measures such as fencing and worksite verification — we can, in fact, reduce illegal settlement and increase the number of illegals who give up and go home. Sí, se puede!

Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and author of the forthcoming book, "The New Case Against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal."

The Impending REAL ID Law

Deep inside the article below that discusses Real ID and changes in driver's license requirements is a seemingly benign statement...

Salon.com:

"Over the next year, the government expects all states to begin checking both the Social Security numbers and immigration status of license applicants."

This in effect means that the states where undocumented immigrants are allowed licenses will no longer have this option. It is interesting how state's rights are only important in certain situations.

In addition, it looks like the new law "could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes or enter federal buildings" if their home states are unable to obtain a waiver from the REAL ID law.

Air Travel Security Showdown

By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer

Jan 11th, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- Residents of at least 17 states are suddenly stuck in the middle of a fight between the Bush administration and state governments over post-Sept. 11 security rules for driver's licenses — a dispute that, by May, could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes or enter federal buildings.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.

Chertoff, as he revealed final details of the REAL ID Act, said that in instances where a particular state doesn't seek a waiver, its residents will have to use a passport or a newly created federal passport card if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security.

"The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress."

Chertoff spoke as he discussed the details of the administration's plan to improve security for driver's licenses in all 50 states — an effort delayed due to opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.

Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years.

The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act, a law designed to make it harder for terrorists, illegal immigrants and con artists to get government-issued identification. The effort once envisioned to take effect in 2008 has been pushed back in the hopes of winning over skeptical state officials.

To address some of those concerns, the government now plans to phase in a secure ID initiative that Congress approved in 2005. Now, DHS plans a key deadline in 2011 — when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance — and then further measures to be enacted three years later.

To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.

The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, particularly the sharing of personal data among government agencies. The DHS and other officials say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics such as the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.

In its written objection to the law, the ACLU claims REAL ID amounts to the "first-ever national identity card system," which "would irreparably damage the fabric of American life."

The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes.

The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states. The DHS, created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: "One driver, one license."

By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old, Homeland Security officials said.

The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.

So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state.

Among other details of the REAL ID plan:

—The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked if that person tried to con the system again.

—The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards.

Over the next year, the government expects all states to begin checking both the Social Security numbers and immigration status of license applicants.

Most states already check Social Security numbers and about half check immigration status. Some, like New York, Virginia, North Carolina and California, have already implemented many of the security measures envisioned in REAL ID. In California, for example, officials expect the only major change to adopt the first phase would be to take the photograph at the beginning of the application process instead of the end.

After the Social Security and immigration status checks become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on to more expansive security checks, including state DMV offices checking with the State Department to verify those applicants who use passports to get a driver's license, verifying birth certificates and checking with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have more than one license.

A few states have already signed written agreements indicating they plan to comply with REAL ID. Seventeen others, though, have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to it, often because of concerns about the cost of the extra security.

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/2008/01/11/D8U3S7700_secure_driver_s_licenses/index.html