American Civil Liberties Union

The rise in identity theft has impacted many of our lives. Now, several Members of Congress are pushing legislation that would compile your most personal information, such as your name, address, photos, birth certificates, social security number and perhaps even your DNA, into a national database. This giant network would then be accessible by numerous government employees and shared with Mexican and Canadian bureaucracies, dramatically increasing the risk of your personal information being stolen and abused.

The proposed legislation, the REAL ID Act of 2005, also includes numerous anti-immigrant provisions.  For example, it would allow officials to require people seeking asylum to get supporting evidence from the very governments they are fleeing.  It also requires DMV employees to identify illegal immigrants and deny them driver's licenses, regardless of any state policies to the contrary, and even though state officials lack training in federal immigration law.

Based on the outcry by concerned activists like you, the legislation's supporters know they cannot pass the REAL ID Act as an independent bill so they are trying to attach it to a must-pass appropriations bill. A vote is expected later this week and we need you to contact your Senators and urge them to oppose this ill-conceived legislation.

Take Action!  Urge your Senators to oppose this unnecessary assault on your privacy.

  The proposed legislation would create a centralized network of your most personal information.  The system would include your full name, address, driving history and social security number. It would also include biometric information, which would include your DNA, retinal scans or fingerprints.

  The resulting network would be a rich target for hackers and identity thieves.  Not only would hackers and identity thieves aggressively target this centralized system, thousands of government workers in the United States, Mexico and Canada would have access to this personal information.  If the REAL ID Act is passed, incidents of abuse and identity theft are likely to skyrocket.

  This bill would impose federal control over the issuance of state drivers licenses, even if this violates the state's own policies. The use of state motor vehicle agencies as agents of the federal immigration service would also lead to an increase in unlicensed drivers, undermining public safety and increasing insurance rates for everyone. Motor vehicles employees lack training in federal immigration law, and are likely instead to rely on ethnic profiling based on notions of who "looks foreign."

TAKE ACTION!