DHS and private stakeholders($$) push for nationwide Real ID so they can spy on America's drivers.
Over a dozen states currently meet the Department of Homeland Security’s REAL ID national identity standards, while the remaining states that don’t currently comply will get extensions to do so come January 15.
DHS said on December 20 that Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, met the REAL ID Act of 2005 standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards.
In its Dec. 20 statement, DHS commended those states for “the substantial progress in working toward these goals and the improvements in security for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards since 9/11.”
Brent Daggett, writing for End the Lie, noted that the REAL ID Act could make Americans feel like prisoners within the United States itself and he is not alone in his criticism.
Indeed, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has stated that the REAL ID has few benefits and staggering costs while also noting that the regulations themselves are deeply flawed.
Homeland Security has granted a temporary extension to the other states and territories that have not provided the information required for the DHS’s determination. They added that they would receive and review submissions from states on a rolling basis.
“Many states have objected to the law, saying it is too costly and could tangle their motor vehicle departments with extra work, including lengthy background checks on all drivers’ license applicants, and that it carried some privacy rights concerns,” noted Government Security News Magazine.
Indeed, in a 2006 report (PDF of report here) compiled from surveys conducted by the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the costs were projected to be over $11 billion in the first five years alone.
There has also been a lot of opposition within state legislatures and groups ranging across the entirety of the political spectrum from the National Governors Association to the American Civil Liberties Union to the American Conservative Union to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund to the Cato Institute to the American Center for Law and Justice to the National Organization for Women to Gun Owners of America and more.
If states have not complied with the requirements by the January deadline, the DHS has stated that a temporary deferment will be issued in order to allow “federal agencies to continue to accept their licenses and identification cards for boarding commercial aircraft, access to federal facilities, and entering nuclear power plants.”
DHS has also stated that they would “consult with states and stakeholders in the coming weeks and months to develop a schedule for the phased enforcement of the Act’s statutory prohibitions to ensure that residents of all states are treated fairly,” according to Government Security News Magazine.
“DHS will, in consultation with States and stakeholders, develop a schedule for the phased enforcement of the Act’s statutory prohibitions to ensure that residents of all states are treated in a fair manner,” according to the DHS.
“DHS expects to publish a schedule by early fall 2013 and begin implementation at a suitable date thereafter,” the department added, according to PJ Media.
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/article/28111/thirteen_states_meet_real_id_standards_remaining_g
http://endthelie.com/2012/12/21/as-13-states-meet-dhs-real-id-standards-remaining-get-extensions-to-comply/
http://www.biometricupdate.com/201212/department-of-homeland-security-delays-real-id-enforcement-until-2015/
