DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is tentatively scheduled to testify before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee about DHS immigration enforcement policies on May 6, 2009. Given Secretary Napolitano’s novel interpretations of federal law, the Heritage Foundation will be posting a series of questions (and suggested answers) for the Secretary. Past questions can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Does the Obama Administration support the implementation of the Real ID Act?
Congress has passed two bills that set Real ID standards for driver’s licenses in all U.S. jurisdictions. The Real ID legislation does not create a federal identification card, but it does set minimum security standards for driver’s licenses. All states have either agreed to comply with these standards or have applied for an extension of the deadline. Secure identification cards will make fraudulent documents more difficult to obtain and will also simplify employers’ efforts to check documents when verifying employer eligibility. Real ID is a sensible protection against identify fraud.
Congress is set to introduce legislation next week that could largely repeal the Real ID. The Administration should put pressure on Congress to ensure that this legislation does not effectively eliminate the Real ID standards.
For more Heritage research on Real ID, check out: The Heritage Foundation’s Research on Real ID.
