SEATTLE ? Michigan Secretary of State Terri Land’s idea of using the state’s driver’s license as a border pass for Canada is drawing attention from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a DHS official said Thursday.
With new controversy beginning to emerge over the effects of the U.S Real ID Act that will effectively make states drivers licenses a national identity card; Land’s proposal is one that federal officials find particularly intriguing, Jonathan Frenkel, director of law enforcement policy for the U.S. department said.
The proposal is designed to smooth movement between Michigan and Canada, which is one of the busiest commercial gateways in the world.
While the idea has merit, it will still not meet one need under the new federal act, which is to provide proof of U.S. citizenship for international travel, Frenkel said. No matter what changes are made to the driver’s license it still will not be proof of citizenship.
But, it is one of the most intriguing ideas proposed at this point and officials are beginning to discuss if it would serve the needs of homeland security by securing identity, along with meeting commercial needs, he said.
Frenkel spoke at one of the most contentious sessions thus far at the 2005 annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Passage of the Real ID act has been blasted by state officials because of its potential cost to the states, estimated anywhere from $9 billion to $13 billion.
But details of the actual impact of the proposal still are not largely known. More than just affecting drivers? licenses, the act will affect passports and even birth certificates. In fact, it may even require all persons to get new birth certificates to demonstrate their identity and citizenship.
Many of the details will emerge in the rules making process, and Frenkel said he understood the anger some had. To a large degree, the department is tied by the dictates of Congress and must draft regulations that follow the law.
Even then, Frenkel said, the law could not guarantee that terrorists will not get identities. It will, however, allow officials to have greater certainty that a person is who he or she says he or she is, and will cut down on the ability of a person to shop states for identity cards.
States could still issue drivers? licenses that do not meet the federal guidelines, he said, but beginning in 2008 persons with non-conforming licenses will not be permitted onto an airliner.
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