With virtually no public discussion or debate, Congress earlier this month enacted the “REAL ID” legislation championed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). Among its many provisions are sweeping changes to the process by which states issue driver’s licenses. States will now require individuals to prove they are in the country legally, and states will also be required to authenticate identity documents. Each state’s database of drivers will be accessible to every other state. If states do not comply, their licenses will no longer be accepted for federal purposes (including boarding a plane and entering a federal building). The new law also includes provisions that increase the burden of proof on asylum seekers entering the United States, permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive all federal laws in constructing fences along the border, expands the definition of “terrorist activity,” and restricts immigrants’ access to federal court.

Supporters of the law claim the law will combat terrorism by fighting document fraud and reducing the prospect that terrorists can remain in the United States without detection. The law, however, has spurred a firestorm of controversy from many quarters, including state governments decrying the bill as a costly unfunded mandate, immigrant rights groups predicting immigrants will be unfairly targeted under the law, and privacy and civil liberties advocates fearing the creation of a de facto national ID card. Serious questions remain whether REAL ID is the right approach to reducing fraud and securing identification systems after 9/11. Consider the following:

• REAL ID would not have prevented 9/11. The 9/11 hijackers entered the U.S. with proper immigration documents, were “legal immigrants” when they received driver’s licenses, and possessed valid foreign passports that allowed them to board an airplane. The 9-11 Commission did not recommend that undocumented immigrants be denied licenses and did not endorse the provisions in REAL ID. [CQ, Nov. 21, 2004; 9/11 Public Discourse Project: Driver’s Licenses, 9-11 and Intelligence Reform]
  
• Initial estimates of the cost of compliance to state governments is $500-$750 million, but the actual cost is likely to be much higher. The estimated cost of compliance for the state of Virginia alone is $237 million. [National Conference of State Legislatures; Washington Post, May 14, 2005; Roll Call, May 9]
  
• More than 600 organizations, dozens of newspapers editorials, and state officials from both parties oppose REAL ID. Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) said the bill “forces entry-level state employees ... to be INS agents. That's totally ridiculous. The states are going to have to enforce [immigration] laws that the federal government doesn't have the will to do." Several states are actively considering not complying with the law, or perhaps filing suit to prevent the law from being implemented. The federal government should be encouraging cooperation with its homeland security partners, not imposing unreasonable mandates on the states. [www.unrealidea.org; National Immigration Forum: Editorials and Op Eds on the REAL ID Act; Roll Call, May 9]
  
• Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said REAL ID will turn “state driver’s license examiners into CIA agents.” The Washington Post predicted the law will “turn motor vehicle departments across the country into de facto enforcers of immigration law.” [Washington Post, Mar. 30; Washington Post, May 6]
  
• REAL ID gutted the work of a broad-based committee at the Dept. of Transportation that was well on its way to developing and implementing regulations to establish national standards for the states. The bipartisan committee, created by the intelligence reform act passed by Congress last December, included the necessary stakeholders—governors, state legislatures, law enforcement, civil liberties and immigration groups, AAA, and motor vehicle departments. [Time, May 9; NY Times, May 3]
  
• 220 million driver’s licenses are issued by the states. One state legislator has said receiving a driver’s licenses is perhaps “the most basic interaction between a state and its citizens.” REAL ID will impose a serious burden on tens of millions of law-abiding citizens and immigrants alike while failing to seriously address the pressing issues of illegal immigration and document fraud. [Letter from National Governors Association and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, Feb. 8; Newsday, Apr. 28]
  
• REAL ID could lead to the creation of a national ID card as all states are required to link their databases electronically. The Wall Street Journal has warned that driver’s licenses could turn into “de facto national ID cards” and “a kind of domestic passport that U.S. citizens would be asked to produce for everyday commercial and financial tasks.” [NY Times, Mar. 6, 2005; WSJ, Feb. 19]