Why the 'Real ID' Act is a real mess

Anita Ramasastry wrote an article in August of 2005 entitled "Why the 'Real ID' Act is a Real Mess."

Here's a couple of quotes:
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"Unlike the USA Patriot Act and other politically sensitive pieces of legislation, Real ID has not made many headlines. Last fall, it was voted down. But then it was reintroduced, and tacked onto the 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief. (Real ID hence superseded conflicting portions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.)

It would have been a serious political liability for a congressperson to vote against funding for the war on terror and tsunami relief. So it is not surprising that there were no debates, hearings or public vettings of the act.

Hearings might have revealed that Real ID is going to create many headaches and nightmares for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and state governments, which already labor under an unfunded mandate."

She offers some ideas to remedy the problems this terrible law will create. I think the best thing we can do is to back away from the underlying concepts of REAL ID altogether.

Read the rest of the article here.