DHS relaxes, backs off some Real ID requirements

The Real ID Act looked like a good idea when it was passed in May 2005, but after it ran into opposition by many states, DHS is trying to rescue the Real ID program by relaxing or backing off provisions of the plan in order to lower costs and reduce privacy concerns. Now, the ACLU is claiming that DHS is ditching key standards and will allow Americans to board airplanes even without a REAL ID. DHS held a conference call with the states last month to address persistent concerns about the program. According to the ACLU, which talked to participants on the call, DHS announced that the national standards were being relaxed, that Real ID would not be required to board planes, and that the deadline for compliance could be extended to 2015 or later. “In discussions I participated in with the Department of Homeland Security, they were asked point blank, ‘What will happen to states that don’t participate?’” said Maine secretary of state Matthew Dunlap, who was on the call. “The response was, ‘Nothing will happen. There will be no penalty. You can still get on a plane.’”

The ACLU, which opposes the plan on civil liberties grounds, says that the many changes made since the Act was passed nearly “negate the original intent of the program.” A DHS official told the Washington Post that the changes have been adopted in a spirit of compromise designed to save the states money. DHS emphasizes that Real ID is not a national identity card program but a set of regulations that direct states on how to create their driver’s licenses and state ID cards. The program mandates digital photos, bar-coded information, and more stringent document checks, and it directs all states to link their databases with one another. Real ID sparked oposition from both left and right from the start, especially about the privacy implications of the linked databases and the machine-readable information, and many states have been worried by the unfunded cost of the upgrade, which could run into the billions of dollars. States began defying DHS, passing laws saying that they had no intention of complying with the Real ID requirements. The federal government retorted that this was fine, but citizens from those states could not use drivers’ licenses to enter federal buildings or board aircraft (which are screened by federal personnel). In the face of the opposition, DHS extended the deadline for compliance to May 2008 to 2009, and then again to 2013. Now, it could be extended again, and states could get even more time to issue cards for older drivers. The ACLU argues that for all intents and purposes, Real ID is now dead: “DHS is essentially whittling Real ID down to nothing — all in the name of denying Real ID is a failure,” said ACLU senior legislative counsel Tim Sparapani. “Real ID is in its death throes, and any signs of life are just last gasps.”