National ID Card Regulations Issued

[jakem]

The Department of Homeland Security released long-delayed requirements for the standardization of state identification documents Thursday. States must start issuing the new internal passports by May 2008, or else their citizens will not be able to board planes or enter federal courthouses. Civil libertarians say the requirement, known as the REAL ID Act, creates a national identity card that presents significant privacy risks to Americans. Many states oppose the rule as an unfunded mandate and an encroachment on states rights.

The regulations are complex, ranging from the kinds of documents required to get a license, how states databases will interact, the required elements on a compliant I.D. document's face, how states need to store copies of your breeder documents, and how states can attempt to deal with homeless people and other cases, such as judges, police officers and victims of domestic violence and stalking.

Full regulations here (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nprm_realid.pdf). DHS explanation http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/gc_1172767635686.shtm.

While some expected Homeland Security to require the licenses to have smart cards or RFID chips, DHS instead proposes a 2D bar code (magnetic stripe) similiar to those used on many licenses. That information will not be encrypted.

DHS estimates that it will take only 44 minutes for a current driver's license holder to get a certified copy of their birth certificate, travel to the DMV and get a new license when it expires. No current driver's license holder will be allowed to renew a license by mail. They estimate the costs to states and individuals over 10 years will be $23 billion.

Congress may move to negate this ruling by repealing the Act or reverting to an earlier process.

27b would love to hear your analysis of the regs.

UPDATE 1:40 pm: Reader EJ rightly points out in the comments that today's proposed rules allow states to apply for an extension until January 1, 2010. And there are bills in Congress that could make all of these regulations useless.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/national_id_car.html

[MGKrebs]

1. This is the kind of thing that could galvanize public resistance

to the fascist state. Images of hundreds or thousands of people burning their ID cards as a symbol of protest would be very powerful. And as an act of civil disobedience in support of freedom and individual rights it would be compelling to a lot of people.

[robinlynne]

3. one would hope. but I wouldn't count on it. people are still not enraged.

[Occulus]

6. They will be when they start being compelled to appear in federal court

and get turned away at the door... then arrested for failure to appear.

What. The. FUCK.

[w4rma]

2. Very Stalin-like of them. (nt)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. 44 minutes to get to CO from OR and get a copy of my birth certificate??!

only if I was superwoman. :eyes:

[Joe Bacon]

23. Gee, I wonder if they will accept a baptismal certificate?

Why not, since the government is into all that faith-based stuff :sarcasm:

[daleo]

5. "Comrade, show me your papers"

"If you cannot produce your papers, I am going to have to take you in for questioning."

[Occulus]

7. Just the wording makes it seem unConstitutional...

"States must start issuing the new internal passports"

Ahem. We don't use passports internally in this country, and I for one am NOT about to start.

[Mojorabbit]

8. I have been dreading this

I lost my birth certificate. I was born on Bermuda at a base that no longer exists in the 1950's. I have no idea how to go about getting a new one.

[Caretha]

16. I feel your pain - let me see if I can help

I just had a similar experience, only I lost my SS card and went in to apply for a replacement. I was born in Salzburg at an army hospital after WWII where my father was stationed, and found out that my Birth Cert issued by the army wasn't going to cut it with the SS office. Since 2006 when a part of the Patriot Act went into effect - no longer would naturalized citizens born outside the US be able to update/change/replace their SS without a form called DS 1350. Basically this is a form issued by the State Dept after they have requested your birth info at (name that country) Consulate. This can take 8-12 weeks depending on the country and it costs $30. The following link gives you all the info and how to go about applying for it.

Consular Reports of Birth

Btw, it was quite an experience at the SS office - I live in the South and the office was packed with 90% Hispanics applying for SS#'s for newly born infants, and they had no problems, unlike me whose family has been here for more than 300 yrs.

[Heidi]

9. Additionally:

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20070301-072912-2694r

[AdHocSolver]

10. Putting all this information in one place will make identity theft much easier.

This Real ID proposal is just a technique of putting all of your eggs in one basket. Instead of an identity thief having to search and break into numerous databases to steal your personal information, it will be one-stop shopping to get it all once this Real ID system gets going. The other problem is that errors in your personal information will propagate throughout all the computers linked together. If correcting one error in a single database is so difficult, imagine tracking down and fixing errors in numerous computer systems.

From what I have read on the subject, businesses want to access this data by "swiping" your driver's license whenever you make a purchase. More proliferation means greater chances that one of these computer systems will be cracked, which means all the information necessary for identity theft will be available from one source. If you aren't worried yet, consider that almost every major corporation and many government agencies have been cracked or attacked with viruses at least once, and in some cases multiple times. These computer systems are not secure by any means. Anyone who claims their computer system is totally secure is lying. Even Microsoft and the Department of Defense have been successfully attacked.

This Real ID system will not make for greater security, but will actually make America less secure. It is idiotic to think that foreign agents or terrorists couldn't mess with the system to steal information or corrupt the information. There is a saying I read in a computer text that sums up what we are up against with this Real ID system: "To err is human, to really mess up you need a computer."

[Deja Q]

13. With a magnetic strip holding UNENCRYPTED data, you're too right.

Good response, yours. :toast:

[OneBlueSky]

11. Achtung, baby! . . . n/t

.

[Deja Q]

12. An unencrypted magnetic strip? Gee, how 1961...

:eyes:

Since I don't have sex, they needn't classify my breeder documents either. :rofl:

Sorry. Magnetic technology is way outdated and not being encrypted is beyond a joke.

And if there's a problem with homelessness, a lot of homes have been built lately - why not get these people jobs so they can buy the houses?

[Massachusetts]

14. The "Baby Boomer" generation will lead the resistance to this.IMO

The "net" free time more and more "Boomers" have is a direct result of their families maturing (college graduation etc.), and retirements.

We are a HUGE voice in this country and WE WILL challenge as well as defeat this. All other generations of Americans that want to get on board, may hop on at anytime.

I can see clearly now the rain has gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day

I think I can make it now the pain has gone
And all of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day

Look all around there's nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead nothing but blue skies

I think I can make it now the pain has gone
And all of the bad feelings have disappeared
I can see clearly now the rain has gone
It's gonna be a bright, bright
Sunshiny day
-Johnny Nash

[sofa king]

15. When's the last time you spent only 44 minutes in line at the DMV?

[salitine]

17. Plant an identifier chip in everyone. No, forehead tattoos!

Why does the government want to make the choices that destroy us?

[mainer]

18. Without one, you can't get into a federal building

So what if you need to get into a federal building (like immigration services or a passport agency) to get the information to get your ID? Or what if you need to get ONTO an airplane to fetch the paperwork you need to get your ID, but can't get onto the plane because you don't have the ID? It boggles the mind, to think of all the ways this could make our lives miserable.

[IDemo]

22. Does this mean non-drivers can get out of federal grand jury duty?

[salitine]

19. This is madness, This system will be abused as soon as it goes online.

This is a form of control. Do you need to know what to think? How? The problem with a national ID is oversight. There's no way to prevent it's abuse once instituted, and no one will be able to stop it from running. It's the necessary step before tagging people.

[saigon68]

20. idiots

[kelvinyany]

21. Actually it's postponed for two years

WASHINGTON — Under siege from states and angry lawmakers, the White House on Thursday moved back a deadline to implement national driver's license standards that critics say would seriously undermine personal privacy and burden states with a hefty bill.

The announcement that states could have an extra 20 months, until the end of 2009, to meet the requirements of the Real ID Act did little to ease criticism of the law from conservative activists, privacy advocates, motor vehicle departments and lawmakers.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-realid2mar02,1,6061929,full.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

[truebrit71]

24. Excellent news....it's a start...

2009? We'll have a Democrat in the WH by then hopefully, and this nasty fascist piece of legislation will be terminated once and for all...

If not, my kids will be out of high school and it might be time to re-locate back to the land of my birth...while I can still get out...

[area51]

25. kick. (n/t)