Real ID Deadline May Strand Holiday Travelers | Print | E-mail
Written by James Heiser
Thursday, 10 December 2009 00:00
During last year’s presidential campaign, then-candidate Barrack Obama made a now-famous gaffe when he referred to his having visited 57 states during the campaign — a tour which included New Mexico. But residents of New Mexico may be wondering whether they are still a part of the union of these United States.

What has some New Mexicans questioning their citizenship is the looming deadline for their state to comply with the federal Real ID. The measure creating the Real ID was passed by Congress in 2005 as one element among many of the post-9/11 acts that offered dubious protection from terrorists combined with a genuine diminution of civil liberties.

State governments have apparently been quite slow to fall into line with the requirements of Real ID; according to an editorial in the Alamogordo, New Mexico, Daily News, 36 states are not yet in compliance with the 2005 act. So what does this mean for residents of New Mexico, and presumably other non-compliant states, as of December 31?

Because of New Mexico's non-compliance with Real ID, federal agencies will be prohibited from accepting after Dec. 31 a New Mexico driver's license or other state-issued identification cards as an "official" document to access federal facilities, board federally regulated commercial aircraft or enter nuclear power plants.

New Mexico residents will essentially be considered foreigners as of Jan. 1.
In its defense, the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division said on its Web site that it has "provided a detailed explanation of its compliance checklist and outlined, in detail, the process it uses to follow state law to issue licenses to foreigners."

The state also has applied for an extension to meet compliance by no later than May, 11, 2011. It also should be noted that 36 other states are in the same boat as New Mexico.
If Congress doesn't repeal the Real ID Act and replace it with a much more lax PASS ID Act, MVD suggests that New Mexicans obtain and carry a passport with them at all times.

For those citizens who attained their majority in the seemingly-halcyon days prior to September 11, 2001, the notion of being confronted by a government official with the demand to “show your papersâ€