I wonder, during the process of implementing Real ID, several things will happen, but two in particular call my attention;
1) A large number of illegal aliens will be barred by the system or simply because they will not request the Real ID. In any case the system may put light over thousands of illegal aliens that today are bearing "legal" driver's licenses obtained by obscure means.
2) A large number of US Citizens will have problems with the deep scrutiny to produce their Real IDs. Cases of Wanted by FBI and State authorities, interstate homonyms, drivers with unpaid fines, criminals, and you can go on and on and on.
If the Real ID most precious benefit is to create a system that will fail less in all aspects, it must start clean, it must not only investigate new licenses requests, but also investigate the old ones on the road, mostly those, and they pile by several millions.
During this process it will expose many problems and issues, not only for criminals and illegal aliens, but it may create havoc for lots of innocent folks. Are we prepared for that?
If today FBI is taking so long (months) to process someone's immigrant wife background, how can we do the same in hours for a much larger numbers of people?
Lets calculate 2 hours to process one Real ID (we know it will take longer) times 150 million, is 300 million hours, it is an average of 6 million hours per state, divide by 200 cities, it is 30 thousand hours per city, if it would be possible to allocate 10 workers per city, it is 3 thousand hours per worker, if the worker do 40h/week, 52 wks/yr, it will take 75 weeks, or around 18 months to do it. That is a real full time job for 100,000 workers. Considering a salary of $18/hr it represents 5.4 billion dollars just for the payroll.
Is the law enforcement prepared to arrest all those who deserve it? It may reach hundreds of thousands of situations. If the system will not be prepared to cover 100% (enforced) of the cases, then why bother expend 5.4 billion of tax-payers money and 18 months of productive job from 100,000 workers?
When you decide to clean up the kitchen cabinets, be prepared with a good and effective roach-spray can. If you don't, all you will do is just spread roaches from one cabinet to another, and you will think (in favor if the one-self morale) that everything is clean.
I am in favor of everything that can improve, evolve and make things better, and also in favor of the Real ID, but I wonder. I would vote for a single document built with the best technology’s “DNA” as possible, holography, smart chip, etc, to substitute Driver’s License, Social Security, Medicare, Health Insurance, Car Insurance, Credit Cards, Gas Station, Resident Card, etc.
No, I am not that crazy, today’s technology can do it easily, we have smart RFID chips with unique ID and it may be tied to your digital fingerprint or retina ID for total security. Everything you should do at a restaurant, airport, movies, shopping, etc, is to press one single button (fingerprint reader) to authorize the debit to one of your credit cards, without even taking this single document out of your pocket.
Most large corporations, hospitals, hotels, etc, are already using the benefits of similar technology, doors open for selected groups of doctors at a particular time of the day in a particular area of the hospital, the same for nurses, security officers, managers, operators, etc.
Thank you.
March 26, 2008 11:08 PM
Anonymous said...
Mr. Secretary have you told the people that the just passed omnibus spending bill just before Christmas also causes the Department of Homeland Security’s authority on constructing new border fencing to expire at the end of this year.
So I guess since you will be gone anyway, no one cares about this. If a Dem gets in they will tear it down anyway and let in all the new voters and next victims group anyway.
March 27, 2008 12:17 AM
Anonymous said...
REAL ID is just a secure driver’s license! I do not see any reason for any reasonable law-abiding rational legal citizen to not want a secure driver’s license!
The only people who do not…….are criminals; terrorists and mostly illegal aliens. There are always a “few” ultra paranoid, but they don’t like anything.
1. They do not collect any more information than is already collected when you apply for a driver’s license. The checking that information is more reliable and deeper. Welcome I would say.
2. Real ID is not a national ID card! What fool started that rumor? It is not required to carry this ID on your person, or even have one of theses ID’s if you do not drive!
3. Grow up! If the federal government wanted to “watch you” they already have all your information via the IRS and Social Security Administration! So don’t worry about a state issued driver’s license! Sheesh!
4. The federal government pays for most of the cost, so the cost to the citizen is minimal. Very minimal.
BRING IT ON! All I can say is: the DHS should not have given any of the states extra time to comply! They had YEARS to comply, with notice given since 2001! We should show them no more special consideration for being stubborn and frankly stupid.
I find it ironic for some to say that the government can protect our records without incident. Our presidential candidates may have something contrary to say, having had their passport records hacked by people contracted to work for the government. “But,” I hear proponents of REAL ID saying, “we’ll be really, really good at it, ok? Just trust us.”
This is not very reassuring.
Concerning identity theft... Have we ever stopped to think that maybe--just maybe--we should not have reduced our lives to a nine-digit number? We created the problem and then howl about it. Surely we can put our American ingenuity to work and think of ways to empower the individual’s control over his person and papers. That would be better than reducing our rights and identities to a card--which is then placed squarely in the hands of bureaucrats.
This power play leaves the government holding all the cards... with the citizen risking all the bets.
We have the evidence of what our leaders are actually saying about REAL ID. One leader has said there can be “countless other uses” for REAL ID.
Countless other uses.
Countless times to be scanned by “machine-readable technology” in the transactions of our daily lives. Scanned and recorded for the benefit of government. Living in a REAL ID maze of red light-green light is not freedom.
Why shouldn’t we be concerned about this?
REAL ID creates an infrastructure for increasing regulation. The problem isn’t just the collection of inert information. It’s about the real-time, digital use of that information by the government over against the individual citizen.
As a conservative, I also happen to believe in the 4th Amendment. We ought not let the government make the 4th Amendment obsolete through “countless” scannings of citizens by “machine readable technology” every time we turn around. If the government needs to search a citizen’s person or papers, let it get a search warrant. Otherwise, the government should leave free citizens alone. REAL ID proponents essentially want to skirt the inconvenience of probable cause and search warrants. Instead, we get to hear “Your REAL ID, please” for countless other purposes.
You see, the privacy we need is privacy from the government--until and unless there is probable cause of wrongdoing. It’s called playing by the Constitutional rules. I know it sounds strange.
True, we cannot “go back to a simpler day.” But we are creative and smart enough to carry our heritage of freedom with us--even as technology advances. Technological advances are no excuse to abandon the Constitutional concept of limited government. Technology does not require statism.
History provides evidence. Programs like REAL ID never remain “minimal.” For example, Social Security cards were introduced with the promise that they would not be used for identification purposes. Wow.
REAL ID “security” standards will not remain “minimal” either. We are putting all our identity eggs into one federal basket. How long until we see the inherent “risks” of this and then “require” the use of biometrics--for our “protection” and “convenience?” How long before DHS or Congress can no longer resist the lobbying of biometrics companies?
And who owns the biometrics of the individual anyway? The citizen or the government? We haven’t even had that debate.
There is a lot to discuss about this road called REAL ID... before we jump over the edge like lemmings.
1. It has requirements demanded by the NATIONAL government.
2. The purpose is for IDENTIFICATION.
3. It is on a CARD.
1+2+3= National ID Card.
March 28, 2008 9:52 AM
Anonymous said...
How to get a new identity easy:
I have some serious concerns regarding over reaching and misuse of personal information in the hands of governmental units. On the other hand, my own experience a few years ago, scares me when I realize the potential for ID theft: I requested a copy of my birth certificate from Detroit, MI. I did this over the phone and I only have to answer a couple of simple questions like my mother's maiden name etc. -- information that is readily available to any serious identity thief. The helpful customer service clerk even offered to mail the birth certificate express. In two days and for only $30 I had my birth certificate.
Then a short time later I was renewing my driver's license in DC. I heard some in front of me ask about how to replace a lost license and was appalled at how easy it was. So when my turn came, I said my brother lost his license, what will he have to do to replace it? The response was, just have him fill out this form, call the local police precinct, tell them he has lost his license, they will complete a report over the phone and give him a report number. He should bring this form and report number and we will give him a new number.
These episodes showed me how easy it is to steal an identity or create a new identity. I got nowhere when I tried to complain. I sure hope things have been tightened up since then.
In my own point of view, YES, it is a threat to our privacy because we need to give ALL our personal informations. In a good perspective, i think it can minimize the threat of terrorism worldwide.
May 1, 2008 4:51 AM
[Photo] Is REAL ID a threat to privacy? There are critics who will say so. But, these same critics can’t and won’t tell you precisely how REAL ID threatens privacy. There’s a reason for that. They have no evidence. The facts are that REAL ID will actually increase privacy protections for Americans, and in several concrete ways.
Under REAL ID, state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs)--not the federal government--will continue to control driver’s license data. And, thanks to REAL ID, that data will get additional protection from disclosure. State DMVs will meet tough new security standards for that data.
State security plans must address, among other things: the physical security of the facilities and materials used to produce licenses,the design and security features on the cards, and the security of how the public’s personal information is managed. In addition to the "Driver’s Privacy Protection Act," which will continue to bar states and their employees from selling or releasing personal information, the DHS Privacy Office has established a set of best practices for the protection of this information. These best practices provide guidance to the states and raise the bar for state DMVs beyond what was previously required by federal or state law.
Another myth we sometimes hear – "But, won’t REAL ID create new links between DMVs, who will now be checking to make sure that drivers don’t hold licenses from several states? Doesn’t that create a risk of hacking, and identity theft?" Here again, the argument does not hold any water. Law enforcement officials from every state can already log into DMV databases check the validity of a license when they perform a traffic stop. And, for the past 16 years DMV officials have run checks for commercial licenses to keep truck drivers from holding multiple licenses. To date, there’s not been a single reported privacy violation.
If you've ever been the victim of identity theft, there's a one-in-three chance that the thief used a fake driver's license to commit the crime. It’s very simple. Making licenses harder to forge will make this crime harder to perpetrate.
For example, REAL ID requires all states to verify birth certificates by going to the source – the states where the certificates were issued. It calls for electronic confirmation of the data on the certificates, making it much more difficult for an identity thief to create a fictitious identity using a forged birth certificate.
There will always be folks who yearn for a simpler day – before Google, before the Social Security Number, and before telephone books. No doubt all of these innovations have had an effect on privacy. But, they’ve also made modern life far more convenient.
There will also always be folks who yearn for a world where ID isn’t necessary. But, we don’t live in such a world. And, pretending we can live without ID will simply make the lives of the criminals, or even terrorists, easier.
A Public Opinion Strategies poll taken last year shows that 82 percent of the American public favors secure identification to prevent terrorism and identity theft. Most all Americans currently reside in states that are well on their way to secure licenses. There’s still time for the remaining three states to get on board, and provide their citizens with a powerful protection against identity theft.
Thanks for reading. I’ll check in with other thoughts on the topic soon.
8 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI wonder, during the process of implementing Real ID, several things will happen, but two in particular call my attention;
1) A large number of illegal aliens will be barred by the system or simply because they will not request the Real ID. In any case the system may put light over thousands of illegal aliens that today are bearing "legal" driver's licenses obtained by obscure means.
2) A large number of US Citizens will have problems with the deep scrutiny to produce their Real IDs. Cases of Wanted by FBI and State authorities, interstate homonyms, drivers with unpaid fines, criminals, and you can go on and on and on.
If the Real ID most precious benefit is to create a system that will fail less in all aspects, it must start clean, it must not only investigate new licenses requests, but also investigate the old ones on the road, mostly those, and they pile by several millions.
During this process it will expose many problems and issues, not only for criminals and illegal aliens, but it may create havoc for lots of innocent folks. Are we prepared for that?
If today FBI is taking so long (months) to process someone's immigrant wife background, how can we do the same in hours for a much larger numbers of people?
Lets calculate 2 hours to process one Real ID (we know it will take longer) times 150 million, is 300 million hours, it is an average of 6 million hours per state, divide by 200 cities, it is 30 thousand hours per city, if it would be possible to allocate 10 workers per city, it is 3 thousand hours per worker, if the worker do 40h/week, 52 wks/yr, it will take 75 weeks, or around 18 months to do it. That is a real full time job for 100,000 workers. Considering a salary of $18/hr it represents 5.4 billion dollars just for the payroll.
Is the law enforcement prepared to arrest all those who deserve it? It may reach hundreds of thousands of situations. If the system will not be prepared to cover 100% (enforced) of the cases, then why bother expend 5.4 billion of tax-payers money and 18 months of productive job from 100,000 workers?
When you decide to clean up the kitchen cabinets, be prepared with a good and effective roach-spray can. If you don't, all you will do is just spread roaches from one cabinet to another, and you will think (in favor if the one-self morale) that everything is clean.
I am in favor of everything that can improve, evolve and make things better, and also in favor of the Real ID, but I wonder. I would vote for a single document built with the best technology’s “DNA” as possible, holography, smart chip, etc, to substitute Driver’s License, Social Security, Medicare, Health Insurance, Car Insurance, Credit Cards, Gas Station, Resident Card, etc.
No, I am not that crazy, today’s technology can do it easily, we have smart RFID chips with unique ID and it may be tied to your digital fingerprint or retina ID for total security. Everything you should do at a restaurant, airport, movies, shopping, etc, is to press one single button (fingerprint reader) to authorize the debit to one of your credit cards, without even taking this single document out of your pocket.
Most large corporations, hospitals, hotels, etc, are already using the benefits of similar technology, doors open for selected groups of doctors at a particular time of the day in a particular area of the hospital, the same for nurses, security officers, managers, operators, etc.
Thank you.
March 26, 2008 11:08 PM
Mr. Secretary have you told the people that the just passed omnibus spending bill just before Christmas also causes the Department of Homeland Security’s authority on
constructing new border fencing to expire at the end of this year.
So I guess since you will be gone anyway, no one cares about this. If a Dem gets in they will tear it down anyway and let in all the new voters and next victims group anyway.
March 27, 2008 12:17 AM
REAL ID is just a secure driver’s license! I do not see any reason for any reasonable law-abiding rational legal citizen to not want a secure driver’s license!
The only people who do not…….are criminals; terrorists and mostly illegal aliens. There are always a “few” ultra paranoid, but they don’t like anything.
1. They do not collect any more information than is already collected when you apply for a driver’s license. The checking that information is more reliable and deeper. Welcome I would say.
2. Real ID is not a national ID card! What fool started that rumor? It is not required to carry this ID on your person, or even have one of theses ID’s if you do not drive!
3. Grow up! If the federal government wanted to “watch you” they already have all your information via the IRS and Social Security Administration! So don’t worry about a state issued driver’s license! Sheesh!
4. The federal government pays for most of the cost, so the cost to the citizen is minimal. Very minimal.
BRING IT ON! All I can say is: the DHS should not have given any of the states extra time to comply! They had YEARS to comply, with notice given since 2001! We should show them no more special consideration for being stubborn and frankly stupid.
March 27, 2008 12:48 PM
I have reason and evidence to oppose REAL ID.
I find it ironic for some to say that the government can protect our records without incident. Our presidential candidates may have something contrary to say, having had their passport records hacked by people contracted to work for the government. “But,” I hear proponents of REAL ID saying, “we’ll be really, really good at it, ok? Just trust us.”
This is not very reassuring.
Concerning identity theft... Have we ever stopped to think that maybe--just maybe--we should not have reduced our lives to a nine-digit number? We created the problem and then howl about it. Surely we can put our American ingenuity to work and think of ways to empower the individual’s control over his person and papers. That would be better than reducing our rights and identities to a card--which is then placed squarely in the hands of bureaucrats.
This power play leaves the government holding all the cards... with the citizen risking all the bets.
We have the evidence of what our leaders are actually saying about REAL ID. One leader has said there can be “countless other uses” for REAL ID.
Countless other uses.
Countless times to be scanned by “machine-readable technology” in the transactions of our daily lives. Scanned and recorded for the benefit of government. Living in a REAL ID maze of red light-green light is not freedom.
Why shouldn’t we be concerned about this?
REAL ID creates an infrastructure for increasing regulation. The problem isn’t just the collection of inert information. It’s about the real-time, digital use of that information by the government over against the individual citizen.
As a conservative, I also happen to believe in the 4th Amendment. We ought not let the government make the 4th Amendment obsolete through “countless” scannings of citizens by “machine readable technology” every time we turn around. If the government needs to search a citizen’s person or papers, let it get a search warrant. Otherwise, the government should leave free citizens alone. REAL ID proponents essentially want to skirt the inconvenience of probable cause and search warrants. Instead, we get to hear “Your REAL ID, please” for countless other purposes.
You see, the privacy we need is privacy from the government--until and unless there is probable cause of wrongdoing. It’s called playing by the Constitutional rules. I know it sounds strange.
True, we cannot “go back to a simpler day.” But we are creative and smart enough to carry our heritage of freedom with us--even as technology advances. Technological advances are no excuse to abandon the Constitutional concept of limited government. Technology does not require statism.
History provides evidence. Programs like REAL ID never remain “minimal.” For example, Social Security cards were introduced with the promise that they would not be used for identification purposes. Wow.
REAL ID “security” standards will not remain “minimal” either. We are putting all our identity eggs into one federal basket. How long until we see the inherent “risks” of this and then “require” the use of biometrics--for our “protection” and “convenience?” How long before DHS or Congress can no longer resist the lobbying of biometrics companies?
And who owns the biometrics of the individual anyway? The citizen or the government? We haven’t even had that debate.
There is a lot to discuss about this road called REAL ID... before we jump over the edge like lemmings.
March 28, 2008 9:33 AM
Anonymous,
I want to encourage you to put aside the fallacious argumentation of ad hominem attacks.
Please look at the real concerns of real Americans who love their country and their freedom.
I know I have already written about the points you make. I'm just asking you to read the comments and think again.
"Calling names" doesn't move the conversation forward.
March 28, 2008 9:35 AM
REAL ID is indeed a national id card:
1. It has requirements demanded by the NATIONAL government.
2. The purpose is for IDENTIFICATION.
3. It is on a CARD.
1+2+3= National ID Card.
March 28, 2008 9:52 AM
How to get a new identity easy:
I have some serious concerns regarding over reaching and misuse of personal information in the hands of governmental units. On the other hand, my own experience a few years ago, scares me when I realize the potential for ID theft: I requested a copy of my birth certificate from Detroit, MI. I did this over the phone and I only have to answer a couple of simple questions like my mother's maiden name etc. -- information that is readily available to any serious identity thief. The helpful customer service clerk even offered to mail the birth certificate express. In two days and for only $30 I had my birth certificate.
Then a short time later I was renewing my driver's license in DC. I heard some in front of me ask about how to replace a lost license and was appalled at how easy it was. So when my turn came, I said my brother lost his license, what will he have to do to replace it? The response was, just have him fill out this form, call the local police precinct, tell them he has lost his license, they will complete a report over the phone and give him a report number. He should bring this form and report number and we will give him a new number.
These episodes showed me how easy it is to steal an identity or create a new identity. I got nowhere when I tried to complain. I sure hope things have been tightened up since then.
April 4, 2008 3:13 PM
In my own point of view, YES, it is a threat to our privacy because we need to give ALL our personal informations. In a good perspective, i think it can minimize the threat of terrorism worldwide.
May 1, 2008 4:51 AM