Residents of nine states may find themselves unable to go into federal facilities, such as airports, if their drivers licenses don’t meet new federal standards. The Department of Homeland Security is urging federal officials to allow Transportation Security Administration agents the power to enforce a 10-year-old law that requires states to comply with a set of federal standards when issuing driver’s licenses. The issue is quickly intensifying, and the debate over identification and privacy has grown after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and California. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures some states are bitterly opposing these requirements because of privacy concerns, and more than a dozen have passed laws barring their motor vehicle departments from complying with the law.
The new standards require more stringent proof of identity and will eventually allow users’ information to be shared more easily in a national database. Privacy experts, civil liberty organizations, and libertarian groups fear the law would create something like a national identification card. Federal and state officials have been arguing for years about the merits of the law, called the Real ID Act, which was enacted by Congress in 2005 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Its proponents argue that it is a necessary tool to reduce identity theft and fraud, and enhance the nation’s security. The federal government cannot force states to adopt these identification standards, but it can gain compliance in other ways. In October, it began requiring that visitors to military bases, nuclear plants, and federal facilities produce a driver’s license from a state that complies with the law, or show another form of government ID, like a passport.
