The Real ID Act was passed by Congress on May 10, 2005. It was signed into law by President Bush with a mandatory compliance date by State Department of Motor Vehicles by May 11, 2008. The bill was sold as a means to protect Americans from terrorists and as a way to stop illegal immigration.
However, as many Americans may have noted, the compliance deadline has come and gone and no real push has been made to enforce the Real ID into reality.
That’s because, since passing, major opposition has grown out of concern by many Americans that the Real ID Act is more about creating a National ID Card and less about immigration reform.
Many state governments say they simply can’t comply because not only are the costs too high, but in fact, much of the technology needed to implement it along with the required data bases simply does not exist.
As a result, rebellion is growing in state legislatures and governor’s mansions against the Real ID Act with growing legions calling for its repeal.
Seven states have now enacted binding legislation to refuse implementation of the Act, including Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington.
Fourteen more states have passed resolutions registering their dissent and similar efforts have been introduced in 11 more. The New Hampshire legislature called the Real ID “contrary and repugnant” to state and federal constitutions.
In addition, forty three organizations representing privacy, consumer, civil rights, and civil liberty, have joined to launch a national campaign to call for repeal of the Real ID Act.
These groups see the Real ID as a significant threat to American’s privacy and civil liberties.
The unprecedented rebellion in the states against the Act prompted Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff to announce that states could ask for a waver with an option for an additional 18 months to allow them to comply. By signing the waver, the states would be saying they intend to comply – not that they were opposed to the act.
It’s interesting to note, as the Real I D is sold as a weapon against the terrorist threat that full compliance would not be possible until at least 2017, demonstrating a surprising lack of urgency and causing civil liberties groups to question its real purpose.
Compliance to Real ID will require an embedded RFID chip or 2D machine readable barcode. Experts have testified that such technology is not secure and can be easily stolen, presenting a serious threat to personal privacy and identity security.
Readers for either technology are readily available to anyone, likely resulting in widespread, institutionalized spying on Americans in the very near future, according to testimony by the Center for Democracy and Technology.
Chertoff also hinted that the Real ID card will soon be used for a wide variety of purposes not specifically detailed in the Real ID Act, stating that the DHS will do nothing to prevent non-governmental private parties from requiring the ID card.
These may include requiring the card to obtain a job, open a bank account, enter a school, receive medical care, buy a gun, enter a federal building and more. In short, say experts, the Real ID card will become tantamount to a license to leave your home.
Meanwhile, Chertoff and Real ID supporters continue to deny the Real ID driver’s license is a National ID Card.
However, failure to comply, Chertoff assured the States, would mean that citizens of non-compliant states would not be allowed on air planes without a complete pat down, screening of their carry on luggage, and possibly would not be allowed on the plane at all.
Chertoff warned rebelling states that they needed to “Grow up.”
But the protests against Real ID are apparently being heard as on April 29th Congress held a hearing conducted by the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management to discuss repealing the Real ID. And of course, the compliance deadline has now come and gone. Stay tuned.
