Thread: Real ID Act & illegal immigrants

I was reading an article about the National Real ID Act, which requires all U.S. citizens to have a federal ID by December 2009 ( that date just changed from May 2008.) In the article I ran across this statement:

"States will be able to issue separate credentials to illegal aliens so that they will still be able to drive."

Why would they be issuing ID to illegal aliens? Shouldn't these people be getting arrested for being here illegally, or at the very least, deported?

This isn't my only concern about this issue, however I found it to be an interesting little tidbit.

Do you have a link for this? Id like to read it. Im against the Real ID Act and Ive called severel of my state legislators informing them so. Right now Oklahoma is one of the states defying it, but only on the grounds of being to expensive.

jbird, you can find this at http://realidrebellion.blogspot.com/

I just found this site this morning & I haven't really explored it. It appears to be a blog, but I think this actual quote came from an AP article.

I think that pressure from a concerned public is working. Last I saw, the deadline for compliance with the Real ID Act has been pushed back to 2013. Now we need to stay on our state governments to make sure that they don't jump the gun and implement the damned thing before then.

Here`s what may be the original
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nprm_realid.pdf

4410-10
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
6 CFR Part 37
Docket No. DHS-2006-0030
RIN 1601-AA37
Minimum Standards for Driver’s licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to establish minimum standards for State-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards that Federal agencies would accept for official purposes after May 11, 2008, in accordance with the REAL ID Act of 2005. This rule proposes standards to meet the minimum requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005, including: information and security features that must be incorporated into each card; application information to establish the identity and immigration status of an applicant before a card can be issued; and physical security standards for locations where driver’s licenses and applicable identification cards are issued.
DATES: Submit comments by [Insert date 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register].
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the DHS docket number DHS-2006-0030 that corresponds to this rulemaking, using any one of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 866-466-5370.
• Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions can be mailed to the Department of Homeland Security, Attn: NAC 1-12037, Washington, D.C. 20528.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darrell Williams, REAL ID Program Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528 (202) 282-9829.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Public Participation
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invites interested persons to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments or data, and has requested comments on specific portions of this rulemaking as described in section VI below. We also invite comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that might result from this rulemaking action. See ADDRESSES above for information on where to submit comments.
With each comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number at the beginning of your comments, and give the reason for each comment. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the rulemaking, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. You may submit comments and material electronically, by fax, or by mail as provided under ADDRESSES, but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit comments by mail, submit them in two copies, in an unbound format, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing.
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If you want DHS to acknowledge receipt of comments submitted by mail, include with your comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the docket number appears. We will stamp the date on the postcard and mail it back to you.
DHS will file in the public docket all comments received by DHS, except for comments containing confidential information and sensitive security information (SSI).1 DHS will consider all comments received on or before the closing date for comments. The docket is available for public inspection.
Handling of Confidential or Proprietary Information and Sensitive Security Information (SSI) Submitted in Public Comments
Do not submit comments that include trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial information, or SSI to the public regulatory docket. Please submit such comments separately from other comments on the rulemaking. Comments containing this type of information should be appropriately marked as containing such information and submitted by mail to the address listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Upon receipt of such comments, DHS will not place the comments in the public docket and will handle them in accordance with applicable safeguards and restrictions on access. DHS will hold them in a separate file to which the public does not have access, and place a note in the public docket that DHS has received such materials from the commenter. If DHS receives a request to examine or copy this information, DHS will treat it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552)
1 “Sensitive Security Information” or “SSI” is information obtained or developed in the conduct of security activities, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy, reveal trade secrets or privileged or confidential information, or be detrimental to the security of transportation. The protection of SSI is governed by 49 CFR Part 1520.
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and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) FOIA regulations found in 6 CFR Part 5.
Reviewing Comments in the Docket
Please be aware that anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the applicable Privacy Act Statement published at www.regulations.gov. You may also review the comments in the public docket on the Internet at www.regulations.gov.
Availability of Rulemaking Document
You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
(1) Searching on www.regulations.gov by docket number or title, or
(2) Accessing the Government Printing Office’s web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.
In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Make sure to identify the docket number of this rulemaking.
Abbreviations and Terms Used in This Document
AAMVA—American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
CAC—Department of Defense Common Access Card
CBP—Customs and Border Protection
CDLIS—Commercial Driver’s License Information System
CHRC—Criminal History Records Check
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Originally Posted by Tamarra

"States will be able to issue separate credentials to illegal aliens so that they will still be able to drive."

So the "Real ID" act supports illegal immigration which means that it is not a "Real ID" act at all but another piece of hot-air legislation aimed at hurting the American middle-class.

millere wrote:

So the "Real ID" act supports illegal immigration which means that it is not a "Real ID" act at all but another piece of hot-air legislation aimed at hurting the American middle-class.

I don't follow, how does the REAL ID Act support illegal immigration and hurt middle-class Americans citizens?

Millere wrote

So the "Real ID" act supports illegal immigration which means that it is not a "Real ID" act at all but another piece of hot-air legislation aimed at hurting the American middle-class.

I just have issue with the fact that illegal immigrants are given ids in the first place. Why is the government supporting their illegal status by validating them with identification?
I don't understand how it's supposed to increase our national security. The theory is that terrorists won't be able to aquire a valid id, therefore they won't be able to fly on airplanes or enter federal buildings. My question is this: What about the terrorists who fly here from a different country & then commit an act of terrorism? Are we going to have a Global ID Act next?

mw wrote

I don't follow, how does the REAL ID Act support illegal immigration and hurt middle-class Americans citizens?

The Real ID Act doesn't support illegal immigration; it's the state government supporting illegal immigration by issuing driver's licenses to people without all of the necessary documentation. Without the Real ID you aren't able to travel by air or enter federal buildings, but what I'm gathering is that you'll still be legal to drive with a regular license. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, however, before illegals are able to aquire a Real ID as well.

Why Secure Licenses are Important

The need to have a secure driver’s license has never been more dire. In a day and age when licenses (and state-issued ID cards) operate as this Nation’s most widely accepted and requested type of identification, it is crucial that we take steps to implement some kind of standards on our licenses, and it is equally important that each state abide by the same set of standards, given that one state’s license is accepted in every other state across the Union.

The 9/11 hijackers knew well that having a license in this country was the key to operating just under the radar screen, which is why they sought as few as 38 licenses (official number) and state-issued IDs between them, and as many as 63 (unconfirmed number). Not only did those licenses allow them to board airplanes that fateful morning, but more importantly, they allowed the hijackers to operate inside our borders plotting, scheming and executing important parts of their attacks for months and years before the September 11th.

The 9/11 Commission specifically recommended that the federal government establish a set of uniform standards for the states to follow in driver license issuance, and that is where the REAL ID Act came from. In short, it requires state DMVs to: (among other things)

establish an applicant is legally present;

tie license expiration to visa expiration;

include a biometric identifier (to be determined by the Department of Homeland Security);

check the validity of all social security numbers with the Social Security Administration;

provide all other state DMVs with access to each others records to ensure multiple licensing from state to state is not occurring.

Many people argue that the 9/11 hijackers were here legally and would still have gotten licenses anyway, even if REAL ID had been in place. But it’s not true that they were all here legally, many of them came to and left the country several times under different visas but kept their various driver licenses throughout. And specific provisions set forth under the driver license section of the REAL ID Act would have addressed this very issue first of all by tying visa expiration to license expiration, and secondly each state DMV would have been made aware when each of the hijackers attempted to obtain multiple licenses.

The REAL ID Act is certainly not going to stop terrorism – to suggest otherwise is irresponsible. But what it will do, is disrupt terrorist travel by making the terrorists who are here already and have licenses easier to track, and by denying terrorists the most common, widely recognized form if ID available in this country and thus the ability to blend in and get to work plotting more attacks, without fear of being noticed or uncovered.

Imagine what might have happened if Mohammed Atta and his henchmen were forced to produce their Saudi passports – instead of their driver licenses – when enrolling in flight school.

http://civics.typepad.com/realid/

Do we want states to be able to continue to issue driver's licenses to illegals or don't we? Do we want licenses issued beyond a visa expiration date or don't we? It seems a lot of people are upset about the problems associated with issuing driver's licenses to illegals, but then some of those same people don't want to do what is necessary to stop the practice. Like I've said before, some of the states complaining the loudest about the REAL ID Act are the same states that issue driver's licenses to criminal aliens.

Hey folks, we can't always have it both ways. Doesn't everyone agree that we need tough measure to combat terrorist and criminal aliens? Well, not everyone is always going to agree with the potential solutions - that's just a fact of life.

Okay guys, you can blast me with both barrels now. I'm certainly expecting it from CG.