Posted on 11/20/2001 7:40:04 AM PST by freeeee
MIAMI (AP) - Several states, including Florida, are pursuing changes in the way residents obtain a driver's license in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the nation's main form of identification was issued with loosely enforced standards set by each state.
Florida, North Carolina, Michigan and many other states are now tightening regulations, particularly for foreign nationals. The states are considering new driver's licenses that would include biometric data such as fingerprints or retinal scans embedded in microchips.
States are also considering connecting the computer networks of all 50 states, elevating the licenses into de facto national ID cards.
''We don't need a new national ID card. We already have one. We just have to make it better,'' said Jason King, spokesman for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
Advocates caution that the stricter licenses might not have thwarted the attacks. But they say it would make it tougher for would-be terrorists to slip unnoticed into society. Law enforcement officials say the 19 hijackers used licenses to open bank accounts and rent cars and apartments.
''No single thing will provide absolute total security,'' said Bob Sanchez, spokesman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles.
Under an executive order signed last month by Gov. Jeb Bush, foreigners applying for new licenses in Florida will get 30-day temporary permits while police examine copies of identification documents. If cleared, they'll be granted licenses that expire at the same time as their visas.
Some offices will be set to handle foreign applicants. All noncitizens - including those holding permanent residency green cards - will be funneled to only about 10 of the state's 143 license offices, which will be equipped with specially trained staff members and equipment to store document images.
Other states have pursued changes:
- North Carolina and Virginia now require proof of residency, such as a utility bill or a bank statement, to obtain a driver's license.
- In Michigan, which has one of the nation's largest Arab populations, Secretary of State Candice Miller is proposing a bill that would bar illegal immigrants from receiving licenses.
- Wisconsin has suspended acceptance of the I-94 visa form, which foreign visitors fill out and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service checks, as proof of residency.
Florida and North Carolina also are closing loopholes that allowed drivers the option of refusing to be photographed for religious reasons.
Florida, for instance, gave a license this year to an Orlando-area Muslim woman who was photographed in a veil shrouding everything but her eyes.
Some of the proposals could face legal challenges.
''It does seem to have a very Big Brother atmosphere to it,'' said Randall Marshall, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Florida. ''The question becomes how much of our day-to-day privacy is going to be sacrificed in the name of fighting terrorism.''
I'd like to hear your and everyone else's suggestions how to fight this.
Our forefathers stood up to a world power to win their freedom. We can't give up this easily.
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