Real ID a real pain

Within days, Congress is expected to approve national standards for state-issued drivers' licenses. The key requirement is that driver's license applicants must prove they are legal residents of the United States by presenting certain documents, such as a birth certificate or proof of a Social Security number. Then, the states must verify the documents.

The Sept. 11 Commission determined that all but one of the 19 hijackers in 2001 attacks on America had some form of U.S. identification, some of it fraudulent. It recommended the federal government set standards for identification documents such as drivers' licenses and birth certificates. The Real ID Act codifies many of the commission's recommendations.

While it is disturbing that the Sept. 11 terrorists had state drivers' licenses, which they used to board the commercial airplanes they hijacked, the fact remains that hijackers also had expired visas. Had the federal government been minding its own store, the hijackers would have been deported before they had the opportunity to launch the devastating attacks.

Passage of the Real ID Act marks the first time that Congress has issued national standards for a state function, a move that infringes on states rights. A number of governors and state motor vehicle departments have opposed the federal act because some of the requirements will be too costly to implement. In other words, it's yet another unfunded federal mandate.

Civil libertarians and gun rights proponents — strange political bedfellows — oppose the act on privacy grounds. They fear drivers' licenses will evolve into national identification cards, which is a chilling prospect, indeed.

Only people with valid drivers' licenses can use the document for a federal purposes such as boarding an airplane or opening a bank account. The states would be permitted to continue to grant driver privileges to illegal immigrants but the licenses have to be of a different design and specify that they are not valid ID for boarding aircraft. Anticipating the federal law, the Utah Legislature created "driver privilege cards" that will permit illegal immigrants to drive lawfully in Utah without granting them a traditional state driver's license. Thus, Utah complies with the new provisions.

But states have little choice but to comply. If they do not establish a separate driver's license for illegal aliens, all of that state's drivers — even American citizens with valid drivers' licenses from their respective states — could be barred from boarding airplanes. The states will have three years to come into compliance.

It's understandable that Congress wants to close any loopholes that potential terrorists might exploit. But the federal government needs to tread lightly. Any time the federal government hands down requirements over functions of state government — issuing drivers' licenses in this case — there is potential for abuse of states rights.