The Feb. 23 arrest of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari on federal weapons of mass destruction charges in Texas sparked pressure in recent days to let a controversial 2005 national ID law take effect as planned on May 11 rather than give it yet another extension.
The pressure didn’t make a difference. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today (3/4/2011) decided to add another 21 months (PDF of the rule that was filed). State budget woes and the fact that “most states simply cannot fulfill the REAL ID requirements at present” were cited by a DHS spokesman today.
Without extension of the Real ID Act compliance date, residents of 24 states challenging the law and not in compliance with the standards for issuing and verifying drivers’ licenses and ID cards would not be able to board planes after May 11 without other types of ID or visit federal facilities and nuclear plants. Another state — Iowa — on Thursday took a legislative step to join those 24.
[field name=”resources”]Since it passed in 2005, Real ID has become something like Real IDead, as nearly half of the states have have opted out, voted against it or passed resolutions against it because of compliance costs and constitutional and civil rights issues.
Three U.S. House leaders last week sent a letter to Napolitano, urging her not to grant another extension for state compliance. The act’s original deadline was extended a second time three years ago to May 11 of this year. While the Bush administration was supportive of Real ID, the Obama administration has not been.
The letter cited Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari’s arrest (PDF of the affidavit) as an example of what proponents of Real ID were trying to prevent.
“The criminal complaint against Aldawsari revealed several disturbing but similar methods used by the terrorists who perpetrated the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001. The Aldawsari case again demonstrates how important it is for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully implement the REAL ID Act regulation,” the letter to Napolitano said. House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) and James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), the act’s author, signed the letter.
“Until REAL ID is fully implemented, terrorists will continue to exploit this vulnerability to accomplish heinous purposes,” the letter said.
Many states and immigration, privacy and civil rights advocates aren’t so sure.
A tally by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows 16 states have passed “statutatory opposition” to Real ID compliance, including Arizona, Georgia and Missouri; another eight have approved resolutions against it, including Illinois, Colorado and Nevada. In two others, at least one legislative chamber has passed resolutions against. (See table below).
An Iowa state House committee on Thursday approved a measure to reject Real ID, even though the state has already allocated $2.1 million for compliance, including a new license scanning system, according to DesMoinesRegister.com.
“This is part of a much larger campaign for states standing up for state rights versus the federal government smothering us with federal laws and regulation that they have no right through our constitution to push down onto us,” Rep. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, said on DesMoinesRegister.com.
State action against Real ID since it passed. (Source: NCSL)
CNET’s “Privacy, Inc.” site on Thursday reported those numbers are a low estimate. “The question is: How many states DHS has deemed to be in compliance? At this point the answer is none,” CNET quoted NCSL’s Molly Ramsdell as saying.
CNET in its story noted “there’s no evidence Aldawsari actually began the process of obtaining fraudulent documents or would have succeeded.” It continued:
“The practical difficulties of implementing Real ID in only 10 weeks makes the House Republicans’ letter political posturing, says Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
“Real ID was an unserious law, passed without a hearing in the House or Senate,” Harper said. “This is an unserious letter, sent without regard for the consequences if the DHS did what they ask.”
Department of Homeland Security spokesman Adam Fetcher said in a statement today that “DHS remains committed to improving the security of state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards” but several factors contributed to the need for a deadline extension.
Citing “diminished budgets caused by the economic downturn and uncertainty throughout much of the last Congress about the prospects for PASS ID legislation,” Fetcher said “most states simply cannot fulfill the REAL ID requirements at present. DHS will continue to work closely with governors, state legislators, state homeland security advisors, and department of motor vehicle (DMV) leadership to address longstanding concerns with the implementation of REAL ID, including through close engagement with all key stakeholders and the National Governors Association.”
Authors of last week’s letter to Napolitano were not pleased with today’s announcement. “Delaying REAL ID unnecessarily places Americans’ lives at risk and threatens national security,” Rep. Smith of the Judiciary Committee said in a statement.
