Real ID, Unreal Expectations

In the absence of a national citizen’s ID card, which we’re not against, we’re all for Washington establishing some uniform standards for state-issued driver’s licenses. It’s too bad, however, that some in the Congress -- led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) -- have hijacked this post-Sept. 11 imperative with their tiresome anti-immigrant crusade.

Last month, the House passed Sensenbrenner’s Real ID Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from accepting for any official purpose state-issued identification cards or driver’s licenses that could have been issued without verifying the recipient’s immigration status. Never mind that 11 states, mindful that the main purpose of a license is to certify that someone is capable of driving a vehicle, already offer licenses to illegal immigrants. Also included in the bill are several unnecessary provisions that would make it more difficult for deserving people to seek asylum in the U.S.

The measure is now before the Senate, attached to the supplemental funding bill for the war in Iraq. The Senate would be wise to strip these “Real ID” provisions from the legislation.

Sensenbrenner claims that this is all about fighting terrorism, but he cannot be serious in thinking that the security of the United States would be guaranteed by requiring Al Qaeda operatives to prove their legal status before obtaining an American driver’s license.

What this congressional measure does guarantee is less safety on the nation’s roads, the result of fewer licensed and insured drivers. Not giving licenses to undocumented workers to drive to work would only make sense in Sensenbrenner’s parallel universe, where the U.S. doesn’t rely heavily on imported labor. Allowing a driver the possibility to apply for a license to drive to work means that person’s photograph, address and proof of insurance will be on file at the local DMV. And that is something to make us all feel safer.

The asylum provisions contemplated in Sensenbrenner’s bill would unnecessarily raise the bar for granting asylum to people fleeing persecution.

Although it is true that more than a decade ago the nation’s asylum laws were abused, the regulations enacted in 1994 by the Clinton administration clearly restrained any further abuse. The numbers tell the story: Before 1994, the average number of applicants hovered around 143,000 annually; in 2003, there were about 46,000.

Sensenbrenner has indicated that he won’t consider any immigration legislation if Real ID is not enacted into law. Neither the Senate nor the president can afford to allow him to establish the terms of this debate.