Last week the Maine legislature voted almost unanimously for a resolution calling on the federal government to repeal the Real ID Act. Sheena Bellows of the Maine Civil Liberties Union charged that the law would enable criminals to use scanners to read confidential information on the new licenses. The Portland Press Herald breathlessly claimed that evildoers could even read your license at a distance without possessing your card. Todd Benoit of the Bangor Daily News derided the bill because the Feds can’t be trusted keeping confidential information confidential. And George Smith of the Sportsman’s Alliance wrote in the Kennebec Journal, describing Real ID: “When the federal government can listen to your phone calls, read your mail, access your bank account, and require you to carry an identification card to travel in this country or visit government agencies, well, how do you like slavery?” Wow. Did we really come this close to Brave New World?

Mind you, I’m no fan of the federal government poking around in my business, but did anyone actually read the Real ID Act? (available on line as PL 109-13) Or did they fall for one heck of a dog and pony show from the Cato Institute and the Maine Civil Liberties Union?

First of all, some history. Real ID has nothing to do with the Patriot Act. It came from the Sept. 11 Commission. Recognizing that the Sept. 11 hijackers amassed over 30 licenses and ID cards which they used to move about this country, board airplanes, transfer money, rent cars, etc., the commission recommended that state driver’s licenses be made secure. And “secure” means that we stop giving driver’s licenses to people who have no legal right to be here, and we stop giving licenses to people who are lying about their identity. Recognizing the right of states to issue driver’s licenses, Real ID addresses the minimum security requirements of those licenses. It certainly does not establish a national ID card. States were offered the opportunity (and funding) to adopt these standards if they wished. It wasn’t mandatory

And how would Real ID standards change our driver’s licenses in Maine? Hardly at all. Our DMV procedures already meet nearly all of the requirements. Look at the front of your driver’s license. It has a photo ID, your date of birth, your address, etc. That’s Real ID. None of this would change. Turn your card over. Do you see the bar code? That contains the same information on the front of your card and nothing more. The information would reside where it always has, in state records. No federal database to lose your data. That’s Real ID too. Real ID would result in a license which looks like and contains the same information as the present one. Just as the police are not stopping us for identity checks, and the federal government is not using that bar code information to “listen to your phone calls, access your bank account, or read your mail,” there is nothing in Real ID to threaten our civil liberties.

There are only two major requirements from Real ID that Maine does not currently meet. Maine is one of only a few states that continue to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. In a February 2005 Bangor Daily News story, a DMV worker in the Portland branch reported that she was required to provide a Maine driver’s license to an illegal Egyptian national from New York, facing deportation hearings, who came to Maine with his lawyer to demand a driver’s license. Under Real ID, this practice would end. And in the future all driver’s licenses issued to foreign nationals would expire when their legal visas expire. It’s common sense. Real ID also requires that state license bureaus be able to communicate electronically, and it authorizes funds to help defray the cost. If I’m applying for a Maine driver’s license with an out of state license, then Maine would need to verify the authenticity of that license. More common sense.

It will cost some money to meet these requirements, and the Feds provide part of it. But the $186 million estimate from the Baldacci administration is highly suspect. Can we trust this number? Remember, in response to immigrant advocates, including the Maine Civil Liberties Union, Gov. Baldacci signed an executive order in 2004 curtailing Maine officials from asking immigrants to prove their legal status. Real ID is a significant tool in discouraging illegal immigration, and the Baldacci administration appears to be very reluctant to cause any inconvenience to illegal immigrants or their employers.

Between 1 million and 3 million illegal immigrants enter this country every year, seeking fraudulent social security cards and stolen identities. It’s a perfect situation for terrorists, drug dealers, pedophiles and anyone who needs to hide his real identity. Real ID is an important tool in protecting us from many kinds of illegal behavior. And it doesn’t compromise our civil liberties. As Mainers, we have a responsibility to know who is walking around with documentation issued by Maine state officials. Do we want the next Mohammed Atta boarding a plane with a Maine driver’s license? Since we’re the only state on the eastern seaboard that continues to pass out driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, the Portland DMV is the obvious place to come. Real ID would have stopped this practice in Maine. It’s too bad that cooler heads did not prevail.

Jonette Christian of Holden is a member of Mainers for Sensible Immigration Policy.