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Running head: REAL ID: ARE AMERICANS REALLY AWARE?

Real ID: Are Americans really aware?

Tammy Bryant

Axia College of University of Phoenix

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Real ID: Are Americans really aware?

Is the average American citizen aware of the Real ID Act–an act that institutes a nationwide

standardized identification card? Do Americans understand the full implications and future

possibilities of this in relation to their basic identity and civil rights? Even though Homeland

Security says Real ID is in the United States’ best interest, Real ID is potentially dangerous

because the citizens are uneducated on the standards and proposed smartcard technology. Real

ID violates civil liberties and privacy, encroaches on individual states’ right to govern, and

threatens unregulated possibilities in future use.

The original wording of the document is quite ambiguous. The resolution states the reasons

and purposes of the bill are “to establish and rapidly implement regulations for state driver’s

license and identification document security standards” (Real ID Act of 2005). This is quite a

vague statement with much defined further into the document. Real ID was quite controversial

from the beginning. However, the House voted 368-58 after it was attached as a rider to another

bill (Office of the Clerk, 2005). Once received in the Senate, the vote was unanimous

(Democratic Policy Committee, 2006). In good conscience, no senator or representative could

give a “no” vote since the rider bill was an appropriations bill to supply basic necessities for

soldiers in Iraq.

From the very beginning this has been an emotional and controversial piece of legislature.

The bill states that the ID use “includes but is not limited to accessing Federal facilities, boarding

Federally-regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other purposes

that the Secretary shall determine” (Real ID Act of 2005). No laws are in place that limit the

potential use of the ID by the government. The DHS can add or alter the use at their discretion.

This is a terrifying aspect to those who are educated on the subject.

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Some say that privacy issues are not apparent and that Real ID is not a national ID card.

DHS says it is not a national card because the maintenance of the databases is up to each state

(Department of Homeland Security, 2008). DHS believes the ID card should be put in force to

better regulate the issue of drivers licenses and ID cards to assist in fighting terrorism, reducing

fraud, and increasing national security. Proponents say it is needed to discourage terrorists and

illegal immigrants. Another reason that some stand in favor of the ID is globalization-the

integration of national economies, social structures, and political principles. Many other

countries that are a part of the United Nations and are a part of the International Registration

Plan (IRP) of the AAMVA require their citizens to possess this type of ID at all times with severe

penalties for not having one.

On the other hand, many privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations have valid

concerns. Advocates say standardized national criterion that are created by the AAMVA, the

linked databases, and its obligatory use for travel outside of US makes it so (EPIC, 2008). Many

argue about the increase of power the government will have as a result of the ID. Many

evangelical Christians find it comparable with the biblical warning of the mark of the beast

which is required to buy or sell. Some concerns are more technologically based on objections to

RFID and biometric encoding which is required within the standards of the Act.

Several requirements must be met for the ID to be issued and every person must possess

the ID to show for any federal purpose, such as access to federal offices or boarding federally

regulated transportation (Real ID Act of 2005). Within the standards are many security and fraud

prevention criterions. To obtain an ID the following information must be supplied:

1. Photo ID, or non-photo ID that includes full legal name and birth date

2. Documentation of birth date that may be electronically verified

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3. Documentation of legal status and social security number which will be verified

electronically

4. Documentation of principle residence requires two documents from the approved

list

5. The only foreign document up to standard is a foreign passport

6. Digital photo must be taken of anyone who applies for image-enhanced software to

use for future verification of identification of applicant

Many people are alarmed about the specifications concerning the data collected and listed

on the card. A minimum of information has been set to be included on the database containing

the ID cards and the drivers’ histories (Department of Homeland Security, 2008). The things to

be evidenced on the card are:

1. Full legal name

2. Signature

3. Date of birth

4. Sexual category or gender

5. License or identification number

6. Digital color photo to be used by digital recognition software

7. Address of principle residence

8. Universal machine readable technology with defined minimum data components

9. Features designed to prevent alteration, counterfeiting, or reproduction

The states will be required to sign an agreement known as the Driver’s License Agreement

(DLA) which declares each state must share its vehicle database with all the other states. The

DLA is authored by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) - a

non-governmentally regulated association which founded the interstate Driver License Compact
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(American Association of Motor Vehicle Administration (AAMVA), 2008). The DLA requires all

the states give reciprocity to Canada and Mexico as countries who are members of the AAMVA

as international members. Within the documentation of the DLA it is stated that the ID databases

be linked with all the information including sensitive information like SSN and home address

(EPIC, 2008). The alarming fact that is not widely known, causing so much disapproval in many

sectors, is that other countries including the European Union are expected to sign on to the DLA

as international members of the AAMVA . By the European Union and other international

members doing so all of our data would be available to the entire world on a database.

Most people are unaware and uneducated about the technology that has been proposed for

the security features on the ID cards. The three that were proposed and discarded are the 1D and

2D bar code as well as the optical stripe. The most likely technology to be used, and the one that

has been supported the most by DHS is “smartcard” technology (Department of Homeland

Security, 2008). “Smartcard” technology contains integrated circuit chips and are both contact

based and non-contact based. The contact based chip requires the chip readers to come in

physical contact with the chip in someway, whereas the contactless chip can be read from a

distance with specialized readers. The contactless card is the most spoken of by privacy

advocates and is most readily referred to as RFID (radio frequency identification). The

government states that these cards are the most secure to use. However, several news articles in

the past few years have spoken of the dangers of RFID containing personal information

(Albrecht & McIntyre, 2008).

Several states have made a stand from the beginning showing their disapproval despite the

mandates from the government that any state with non-compliance issues will not receive federal

funding for any programs whatsoever. On January 25, 2007 Maine was the first to stand up

against this legislation by passing a resolution that refuses to implement it knowing full well the
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implications of non-compliance. Utah passed a resolution opposing the ID stating it is “in

opposition to the Jeffersonian principles of individual liberty, free markets, and limited

government” (EPIC, 2008). Utah also is in opposition to the machine readable technology

required believing that it converts the cards into tracking devices which is unconstitutional. On

the ACLU site which covers the Real ID’s unconstitutionality, a person will be hard pressed to

find a state willing to comply with all the requirements (American Civil Liberties Union

(ACLU), 2008).

Real ID is a real danger to everyone. Every American citizen must be aware of the

legislation passed because Real ID affects each citizen personally. With unlimited restrictions,

the government can use this ID in anyway DHS sees fit. The shared databases of the DLA will

have eventual worldwide access. The shared database in addition to the fact that both the DHS

and AAMVA are not answerable to the people of the United States is quite alarming. The DHS is

answerable only to the executive branch of the government. The AAMVA is a non-

governmentally regulated association. Yet both of these are the major players in determining and

instituting this ID and the ID’s regulation. In addition, the smartcard technology will allow the

government to track people for their unregulated purposes. In spite of the stance evidenced by

almost every state, the government is insistent on using this form of ID. Are American citizens

willing to allow a “government for the people, by the people” to do this? All Americans should

stand up and use the right of the 5th Amendment to be heard and to vocalize emphatically the

wish to continue to have inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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References

Albrecht, K., & McIntyre, L. (2008). Spychips.com­how RFID will compromise privacy, security,  

freedom. Retrieved June 14, 2008, from spychips.com: http://www.spychips.com

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administration (AAMVA). (2008). About AAMVA. 

Retrieved July 4, 2008, from American Association of Motor Vehicle Administration: 

http://www.aamva.org

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (2008). Anti­Real ID Legislation in the States. 

Retrieved May 29, 2008, from RealNightmare.org: http://www.realnightmare.org/

Democratic Policy Committee. (2006, February 6). Democratic Legislative Accomplishments in  

a Republican­Controlled Senate. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from Democratic Policy 

Commission: https://democrats.senate.gov/

Department of Homeland Security. (2008, April 2). All Jurisdictions Meet Initial REAL ID  

Requirements. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/

Department of Homeland Security. (2008, May 8). REAL ID Final Rule. Retrieved June 9, 2008, 

from Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/

EPIC. (2008, May 13). National ID Cards and REAL ID Act. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from 

Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC): http://epic.org/

Office of the Clerk. (2005, May 5). Final Vote Results for Roll Call 161. Retrieved June 9, 2008, 

from Office of the Clerk­U.S. House of Representatives: http://clerk.house.gov/

Real ID Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109­13, 119 Stat. 231 (2005).
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