FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - An American Civil Liberties Union scorecard analysis of the
proposed new federal regulations on the Real ID Act, which was released today,
finds that the regulations solve only 9 percent of problems with the legislation
that have been identified.
"Some people have been withholding final judgment on Real ID Act pending
release of these regulations," said Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU’s
Technology and Liberty Project. "But the verdict is in: when it comes to the
expense, long lines, bureaucratic Catch-22’s, and loss of privacy, Real ID will
be a real nightmare."
The ACLU’s analysis of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations
revealed that of the 56 problems identified on the scorecard, the regulations
passed 5 (9 percent), scored an incomplete on 9 (16 percent), and failed the
rest. An issue was scored as incomplete in cases where DHS noted an issue, but
did not offer a solution to fix it.
The proposed regulations were released on March 1 by the DHS. They offer
guidance for the states in implementing Real ID, which would federalize state
driver’s licenses and the motor vehicles departments that issue them and create
the nation’s first-ever de facto national identity card system. In anticipation
of the draft regulations, the ACLU earlier made public the blank scorecard;
today it issued the actual grades.
"Our analysis shows there’s nothing in these regulations that should slow
down Congress from repealing or rewriting Real ID," said Tim Sparapani, an ACLU
Legislative Counsel. "We’ve certainly seen that the rebellion against Real ID in
the states hasn’t slowed down at all - in fact, it appears to be picking up
momentum. Already, since the regulations were introduced, one state has passed
an anti-Real ID bill out of its Senate, four states have sent a bill out of
committee, and two states have introduced new bills."
Among the significant problems the ACLU found that the regulations were
unable to or did not address were:
National identity system. The regulations do nothing to
prevent Real ID from becoming a de facto National ID card. They create a vast
infrastructure for such a system, including a common machine-readable element
and the construction of a national interlinked database. The regulations already
require the card to fly or enter a federal facility, and state that Real ID will
be considered for an expanding number of other functions.
Cost. Real ID requires sweeping changes to state driver’s
licenses and the systems by which those licenses are administered. The most
authoritative prior estimate of Real ID’s costs was $11 billion. The
regulations, however, concede that the price tag for Real ID will come to a
whopping $23 billion.
ID theft. Because Real ID requires the scanning and storage
of birth certificates, social security cards, and many other foundational
documents, and because it requires all the states to provide access to an
individual’s personal data not only to DMV employees in their state but across
the nation, the risk of fraud and identity theft is greatly increased.
Increased wait times at DMVs. DHS acknowledges that the
regulations will increase wait times and service times at DMVs. They are also
likely to degrade service by, for example, making it difficult or impossible for
DMVs to offer same-day licenses, Internet and mail transactions, and itinerant
field stations and mobile offices.
Threat to safety from ‘principal address’ requirement. A
number of states have laws that allow judges, police officers, domestic violence
victims, or others at risk of retaliatory criminal violence to use agency
addresses or P.O. boxes in lieu of their actual residence address. Although DHS
partially addresses the issue, the regulations are inadequate and the
vulnerability of many domestic violent victims and others will actually be
increased.
"When they released these regulations, DHS made a big fanfare about extending
the deadline for Real ID," said Steinhardt. "But what this scorecard makes
extremely clear is that this ill-conceived law that is beyond repair."
The scorecard, along with an explanation of each item and the
grade assigned, is available at: www.realnightmare.org/resources/106
In-depth information about Real ID, including the status of
anti-Real ID legislation in the states, is available at: www.RealNightmare.org
