REAL ID Heating Up, Deadline Looming

A mini-showdown over REAL ID is looming on the horizon. States have until March 31^st to apply for an extension or else driver licenses and IDs from those states will not be accepted for air travel or entering federal facilities beginning May 11, 2008. Montana, New Hampshire, Maine, and South Carolina have said they will not apply for the extension, which is where the showdown comes into play.

With the deadline only five days away at this writing, we are starting to see some unusual twists and turns…

Montana has been leading the resistance by vocally proclaiming it will not apply for an extension, and urging other states to follow its actions. Yet, on Friday, March 21^st, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) gave Montana an extension, even though Montana had not applied for one and has insisted it will not follow the law. A few days before DHS gave Montana the non-requested extension, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators had asked for a blanket exemption to the May 11^th deadline for all 50 states. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff denied the request citing that he is legally bound to that deadline by the REAL ID law.

New Hampshire requested an exemption, but DHS regarded it as legally unacceptable. South Carolina is considering suing over REAL ID, and today it was reported that Maine’s governor has requested REAL ID leniency, similar to what Montana was given.

California had previously requested and been granted an extension, but is now backing off of its commitment to REAL ID and is considering legislation opposing REAL ID. Louisiana is one of several other states considering similar bills. A total of seventeen states have already passed legislation.

DHS has been adamant in earlier statements that the May 11^th deadline will be enforced. However, recent DHS actions have been characterized as “blinking” by both Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The looming deadline may be the impetus for Senator Lamar Alexander’s (R. – Tenn.) decision to propose legislation next week that would stop REAL ID from going forward. Sen. Alexander could have the leverage necessary to push the legislation through where other anti-REAL ID bills have been stalled in committee.

Opponents to the REAL ID Act cite privacy, infringement of state rights, and enormous financial costs, with no discernable anti-terrorism benefit, as the basis for their rejection.

Understanding REAL ID

You’ve been hearing about REAL ID in the news and from us, at NCTE. But perhaps you are not quite clear what REAL ID is all about? In general, that is…not just the ways that transgender people are affected by REAL ID.

Fortunately, CNET News.com has published a four-part series of articles that provides background on the REAL ID Act and how the upcoming deadlines can impact people’s everyday lives.

CNET News.com does not cover the transgender angle of REAL ID, of course. However, the ways that all Americans will be affected certainly includes transgender people. I am sure that most transgender people will be able to imagine how these general difficulties would translate into even greater hardships for our particular community.

Four-part series: "REAL ID vs the states"

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CNET News.com has also made available an easy-to-read version of the relevant section of the REAL ID Act. For those who want to read the entire text and history of the bill, click here.

national legislation to repeal REAL ID Act

We mentioned two pieces of legislation in our recent review and analysis of the Department of Homeland Security final rules for implementing the REAL ID Act. The following is a brief explanation of what those bills are:

The two bills, S. 717 and H.R. 1117 (U.S. Senate and U.S. House bills, respectively) are nearly identical. They both call for the repeal of Title II* of the REAL ID Act and to reinstitute section 7212 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, a much better law for making secure driver licenses and IDs, which includes privacy and civil liberty protections.

The Library of Congress Thomas website has the complete text of both bills, lists co-sponsors of the legislation, and provides the current status of the bills. Click on these links to go the appropriate sections of Thomas: S. 717 & H.R. 1117

If you would like to contact your Senators about S. 717, you can find their contact info here.

If you would like to contact your Representative about H.R. 1117, you can find their contact info here.


* Title II of the REAL ID Act is the section that pertains to driver licenses.

Congress Investigates Potential Voter Suppression

For those of you who have been following voting rights issues, check out the Leadership Council on Civil Rights (LCCR) March 11th article about Congressional investigation into voting suppression. The article is "Congress Probes Justice Department Efforts to Curb Voter Suppression".

Given what happened in Florida during the 2000 election and in Ohio in 2004 (among other places), access to voting is a pertinent issue in the lead up to the 2008 presidential election. With the identity document issues that transgender people can face, it is easy for transpeople to become caught up in voter suppression efforts targeted at racial minorities and immigrants.

If you like would like to know more about voter suppression in general, see Wikipedia's entry for a quick primer.

And f you haven't already, check out NCTE's handout, "Overcoming Voter Obstacles" for tips on how transgender people can deal with voting issues.

John Otto

Stop No-Match Letter Legislation

A bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would make it mandatory for every employer in the nation to participate in the E-Verify (formerly called Basic Pilot) Program. This program would expand the Social Security Administration "no-match" letter program that was recently halted by a federal judge.

This pending bill is called the Secure American Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007, or the SAVE Act. It is also known as the Shuler-Tancredo bill or H.R. 4088. It is one of many ways that the government is seeking to be more intrusive in our everyday lives, and could improperly identify at least 2.5 million workers as ineligible for employment.

While gender is not verified in this particular program, another similar program does verify gender and has outed an untold number of transgender people in their workplace. If employers are required to participate in this program, it is unlikely that they will make a distinction between this program and the ways that transgender people are susceptible to no-match letters.

For this reason it is important to urge your Representatives in Congress to stop this bill. It is also important because it is the right thing to do, in support of our immigrant neighbors, friends, and families.

The House Republicans are attempting a procedural manuever to bring the SAVE Act to a House floor vote without going through committee. They are doing this because they don't think this flawed piece of legislation would make it through a committee vote.

Your help is needed now to block this move. Urge your representative to "decline to sign the petition to discharge H.R. 4088, the Shuler-Tancredo Bill."

Call the House Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to find your Representative's phone number, or visit http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html.


More information about the Shuler-Tancredo Bill/H.R. 4088/SAVE Act can be found in this National Immigration Law Center's document: ttp://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/ircaempverif/shuler_EEVS_2008-02-01.pdf