We didn't have the right "papers", aparently. The drivers' license is only the most easily faked form of ID and somehow it is put on this great, sacred pedestal. Bullllloney! I provided, in addition to my AZ license and social security card, two forms of ID with pictures, signatures, date of birth- the works. Both of which required more "ID" to obtain than a stupid drivers' license. One even has my fingerprints encrypted on it for heavens' sake! Nope. Not good enough. They want the birth certificate.
To top it off, not only did I not sufficiently prove I'm alive, we didn't have adequate "proof of residence". We had a copy of our titles to our vehicles (with our address) in envelopes with our address, we had checks (with our addresses), I had a voter card (with my address). Nope, they want bills- morgage, credit cards (mastercard as ID? Hah!).
I just want to know how illegals manage to get licenses. Maybe I'll just refuse to speak English next time I go in. You quiero una licencia, por favor. No, no tengo papels, pero estoy aqui y no hablo Ingles tan deme una licencia. Viva diversidad!
You could always drive across the border and get your license in Virginia like they did. Our Attorney General (and next great Governor) has been trying to do something about that.
In Michigan, you go to certain Detroit offices of Secretary of State, and ask to see a certain person behind the counter. Some offices specialize in giving licenses without ID, others in selling car licenses without the proof in insurance you must legally have. A third type of office will re-title your stolen car, removing it from the stolen car database, and registering the now-legal VIN in your name.
These full-service locations have done business like this for a long time, because even (or especially) powerful politicians like to have extra ID, or get good deals on stolen cars without risking jail time. But now, potential terrorists may be taking advantage of these same services.
It's all part of a criminal culture that's common knowledge among that class of people. For example, a lost or stolen ID badge for a suburban office finds its way to Detroit to be sold or rented, and is back in the suburbs again, in the hands of the crook, in just a few hours. I learned that when some scout, who wanders through office buildings all day, grabbed a security badge off a secretary's desk in the morning, and the robbers were helping themselves to laptaps that evening while the cleaning crew looked the other way.