I have never understood why we have the Real ID act.
Mohammed Atta and his boys were foreigners, so presumeably, their ID used was their foreign issued passport. We have no control over passports issued by foreign countries.
How does inconveniencing all of us with this law do anything to fight terrorism???
And since a number of states now give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, a driver’s license, even allegedly secure under the terms of the Real ID act, cannot be said to be any sort of proof of citizenship.
The Real ID act was 2005. Atta and crew were before.
The purpose of Real ID was to create pressure on the states to adopt a minimum and standard set of controls around government (state) issued ids. This could not be mandated by the federal government as this is a state’s right to issue documentation to their citizens.
However, by using the leverage of not accepting state ids that did not provide basic information to establish citizenship, states soon realized that conforming is easier than resisting. California is just a bit behind the curve. Also, by creating minimum standards for state issued ids, it now becomes a crime to submit fraudulent documents.
Mohammed Atta and his boys were foreigners, so presumeably, their ID used was their foreign issued passport. We have no control over passports issued by foreign countries.
A foreign citizen does not have to show a passport to board a domestic flight. The 9/11 terrorists used state issued drivers' licenses to board their flights. Many states were quite sloppy about issuing drivers' licenses and ID cards to foreigners. For that matter, quite a number of US citizens have been issued drivers' licenses or ID's under assumed names. The REAL ID requirements make it much more difficult for people to get identifying documents under assumed names or even multiple assumed names, because of the biometric requirement. In Texas, we have to submit thumbprints as a biometric identifier. Trying to get another license under an assumed named would be damned near impossible. If one were to attempt, it would be quickly caught due to the thumbprints already on file for a different ID under a different name. The REAL ID Act is intended to strengthen up domestic ID's so that foreigners and terrorists can't get ID's under assumed names.
My wife got her Permanent Resident Alien card not long after we got married. First we had to apply for a change of status. Then we got a letter in the mail after a background search telling my wife to appear at a Homeland Security service center in San Antonio at a specified time on a specified date to submit biometric data. They took fingerprints from all 10 fingers and took an ID photo. Her passport information is linked to that application. In addition to the passport number, name, date of birth, date of issue, and date of expiration, they also copy all the visa and entrance and exit stamps. The State Department and Homeland Security want to document that applicants for permanent residency have a history of not overstaying visas. They want to see what countries the applicant has visited. After she got her permanent green card my wife applied for a Texas drivers' license. Before we were married, she applied for a temporary Texas driver's license good for one year. At that time she had to submit a certified copy and translation of her birth certificate as well as her passport and her foreign driver's license. For her regular license, she had to submit her permanent residency card and Social Security number in addition to all her previous documents plus she had to submit thumb prints.
Remember Atta had a drivers license? Don’t remember from which state. He was on a visa here, probably got the DL before his student or tourist visa had expired.