Real problems with REAL ID

By Marjorie R. Esman
Guest Columnist

You may not know it, but by the time you read this your driver’s license may be out of compliance with federal mandates. That’s because Louisiana is one of five jurisdictions that has refused to adopt standards for REAL ID, a federal mandate that sets standards for drivers licenses which compromise individual privacy, risk infringing on religious freedom, and do nothing to enhance public safety. With a federal deadline of October 10, Louisiana residents may have licenses that don’t meet federal guidelines – although if history is a guide, the deadline will be extended as it has been many times before.

The background to “REAL ID”:

REAL ID goes back to the aftermath of 9/11, when fears of terrorism affected much of what happened in this country. In response to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses,” President George W. Bush proposed the REAL ID Act of 2005 (REAL ID), which passed Congress with little debate.

REAL ID requires your local Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office to photograph every person as they enter the DMV office and immediately scan all documentation presented for future storage. In other words, they would take your picture as you arrive – no matter why you’re there – and keep a copy permanently of whatever documentation you submit to get your license. All of that would be stored in a database that could be accessed by the federal government at any time (and also could be hacked by identity thieves). What’s more, REAL ID gives DHS unlimited authority to expand and re-define the “purposes” where REAL ID could be required.

Originally, states were given until 2008 to comply with REAL ID. Compliance was intended to be necessary to allow access to federal government buildings, to board airplanes, and to do anything for which the federal government requires identification. But as more and more states refused to comply with what amounts to a massive invasion of privacy, DHS has extended the deadline repeatedly. Currently, only Louisiana, New Hampshire, Minnesota, New York and American Samoa are non-compliant. Facing an October 10th deadline this year, the Louisiana Congressional delegation recently asked federal authorities for more time. It will almost certainly be granted, because otherwise the entire federal system in these jurisdictions will grind to a halt.

Primarily for issues of privacy the American public has historically rejected the idea of a national identification system. If REAL ID stops short of creating such a system, it certainly creates the infrastructure for one. Consider that under REAL ID every license will have a common barcode, as well as a star in the upper right-hand corner certifying that your identity has been verified and your identification has been approved. And each state must also agree to share its database of licensed drivers with all other states, including every piece of data on the cards themselves (name, address, birth date, etc.), along with all driving records and driver histories of everyone licensed to drive in the state. That data will include the driver’s social security number and other personal information unrelated to the ability to drive.

By imposing federal standards on DMV’s the government is, in effect, creating a de-facto national ID system where your driver’s license becomes a national ID card. REAL ID creates a single database where hackers and identity thieves can now find everything they need by following an electronic trail back to a single repository. Privacy advocates express concern that REAL ID could be used to facilitate the government’s tracking of data on innocent individuals, and in the surveillance and monitoring of people’s movements and activities.

There are no authorized exceptions to REAL ID. Those with religious objections to the collection of numbers like social security numbers (including the Amish, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others) have no right to refuse. For that reason many religious organizations have opposed this mandate since it was introduced.

And if the purpose of a driver’s license is to ensure that people operating motor vehicles have passed a test to ensure their safety, none of this is in any way relevant to the real reason we license drivers.

At the end of the day, REAL ID is a bad idea and Louisiana has been right to refuse to comply. The ACLU of Louisiana worked with conservative lawmakers to defeat REAL ID legislation. In 2015, the Louisiana Legislature adopted a bill that would make the requirements optional, so that each person could decide whether they want it. This was a reasonable compromise, but Gov. Jindal vetoed it. And while technically we now won’t be able to access federal government facilities with our driver’s licenses, it’s likely that the deadline will once again be extended. If not, the federal courts will have to shut down, and no Louisiana resident will be able to board an airplane without a passport. That’s simply unlikely. Standing up for our privacy and our real security has been the right thing to do.

This article originally published in the October 19, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.