DHS To Cause All To Receive a Mark of Real ID
Pastor Dale Morgan
*DHS To Cause All To Receive a Mark of Real ID*
DHS warns states not to reject Real ID
Marc L. Songini
July 18, 2007 (Computerworld) Despite several state and federal efforts
to force noncompliance with the new federal identification law, or Real
ID Act, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has continued
work on the law's guidelines and warned states that they face
consequences for failing to comply.
The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, mandates national standards
for all state driver's licenses and other official documents. The DHS
hasn't released a final version of its regulations based on the law, but
the agency has said that it will require the documents to include a
digital photograph and a bar code that can be scanned by electronic readers.
The initial compliance deadline is next year, with full compliance
required by 2013.
The Real ID Act led to an outcry from privacy advocates and to the
passage of laws in some states, including New Hampshire, that prohibit
compliance with the law.
Despite the criticism, the DHS continues to insist that the law be
implemented on schedule. "I think residents of states that choose not to
comply are going to be displeased with their leadership's decision when
we get closer to full implementation," a DHS spokesman said. "They'll
no longer be able do certain things that carriers of state-issued
drivers licenses take for granted today."
He noted that residents of states whose identification cards don't
comply with the law will be prohibited from entry to airports and
federal buildings. It could also block access to "certain critical
infrastructure sites" such as a power plants or dams, he said.
Critics won a small victory against the law last month when Montana's
two Democratic senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, successfully called
on colleagues to cut language from a now-stalled immigration bill that
would have required all employers to check the eligibility of any
potential employee by using Real ID documents.
"My boss and Sen. Tester don't support the Real ID program, as do a
majority of Montana citizens," said a Baucus spokesman. "It amounts to a
national ID system, and there are privacy concerns."
Tim Sparapani, legislative council at the Washington office of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said that the deleted language would
have led to a "massive expansion" of Real ID-compliant documents. In
effect, it would have made a driver's license an employment document, he
said.
Sparapani predicted the final regulations will come from DHS around
Labor Day, and individual states not now opposing Real ID will have to
decide if they want to reject it or implement it.
The DHS spokesman declined to offer a specific date for when the final
regulations would be issued.