01/16/2008

News / Secure ID plans raise privacy concerns

Homeland security hit the home front up close and personal in Buffalo Niagara this past week with the federal government moving forward on implementing two laws enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

For residents who enjoy trips across the border to Canada or catching a flight south to warmer weather, the measures will touch their lives — sooner and later.

And not everyone is happy about the changes.

Some citizens worry about government taking too much control of their lives, and civil liberties advocates say the new requirements have the potential to erode freedoms and make everyone more vulnerable to identity theft from computer hackers.

The New York Civil Liberties Union says too much information will be amassed by the federal government under its REAL ID Act law, which will be phased in over a number of years, mainly through stricter guidelines for driver’s licenses.

“The REAL ID Act is an internal passport on Americans. It will establish an enormous electronic infrastructure that government and law enforcement officials, or whoever else hacks into the system, could use to track the activities and movements of Americans,” said Udi Ofer, advocacy director of the civil liberties organization.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff claims that just the opposite would be true. “We are not going to make this information available willy-nilly,” he said last week, as he insisted there would not be a national data base of personal information.

Stricter control over driver’s licenses through standardizing proof of citizenship for a license would deter terrorists, prevent illegal immigrants from using a driver’s license to violate immigration law and stop identity thieves, Chertoff said.

“The most important thing from our standpoint, obviously, is terrorists,” Chertoff said. “We are eliminating through this measure maybe 99 percent of the risk [of fraud]. That’s a major step forward.”

Ofer says he takes little comfort in the government’s approach and envisions the REAL ID Act becoming an intrusive part of American life. “The law places no limits on the potential required uses for REAL ID Act licenses. In time, REAL IDs could be required to vote, to collect a Social Security check, open a bank account, rent a DVD, get Medicaid or buy a gun,” Ofer said of how it could evolve into a “de facto national ID card.”

New York State, in fact, is moving quicker than many other states to create an enhanced driver’s license that would double as a REAL ID Act document and substitute as a passport for trips back and forth to Canada in response to concerns over the flow of cross-border commerce.

But the enhanced driver’s license will not be ready until sometime this summer, falling way shy of the implementation of a second federal law known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Under that law, starting on Jan. 31, a passport or birth certificate will be needed to re-enter the country from Canada. An existing driver’s license and an oral declaration of citizenship no longer will be sufficient to prove American citizenship at the border.

Unlike the REAL ID Act’s focus of improving the nation’s internal security, the travel initiative aims to strengthen U.S. borders.

New Yorkers who purchase the enhanced driver’s license when it becomes available will not need the extra citizenship documents for cross-border trips.

“You might describe the enhanced IDs as REAL ID plus,” Chertoff said.

For those who decide against buying the upgraded driver’s license or a similar nondriver photo identification, they will still be able to travel back and forth to Canada but will need the additional citizenship documents.

The cost of the enhanced driver’s license has not yet been determined by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, but the federal government is providing some funds to help cover the costs.

For now, it may not be a major problem to forgo purchase of the enhanced driver’s license. But eventually, lack of a REAL ID Act document, such as the license, will prove to be a headache.

For instance, if a citizen without the identification needs services inside a federal building or wants to take a trip on a domestic aircraft flight, the building will be off limits and the flight will not be open to that person.

These prohibitions don’t start tomorrow or next year, but by 2011, a phase-in of the restrictions begins.

As for states, the federal government wants to see changes start a lot sooner. The deadline is this May for states to begin making improvements in the security for issuing driver’s licenses, according to REAL ID Act directives issued on Friday by Chertoff.

“The time has come to bite the bullet and get the kind of secure identification that America wants to have,” Chertoff said. “This should be no surprise to them [states]. They’ve been expecting this.” There’s no denying that.

Seventeen states, prior to Friday, objected to the REAL ID Act, mostly because they fear huge financial burdens in complying with the security measures.

“If additional costs are to be passed to county taxpayers, it is my sincere hope this will not become yet another unfunded mandate,” Erie County Clerk Kathleen C. Hochul said. “We have 644,000 licensed drivers in Erie County and, if even only half wanted to take advantage of this enhanced license option, we would need additional funds to cover costs for additional staff, perhaps additional space as well as computers, cameras and work stations.”

For local residents, the concerns are not measured in dollars alone.

Pamela Earl of Buffalo likes the unencumbered ease of an open border with Canada.

“I think we’re fine with a seamless border,” she said, hesitantly adding that additional security measures might be acceptable if they do not prove a big interference at the international bridges.

But, she says she also worries about the government becoming “Big Brother” with the increased security.

Marge McClean, another Buffalo resident, says she resents efforts to have more indepth security on American citizens, especially when they are traveling back and forth between Canada and the United States.

“Canada’s our sister country. I have a friend there that I visit sometimes as much as three times a week,” she said. “I don’t approve of this. It’s not right.”

John Gennamore of Grand Island says he also worries about a more intrusive government that will be reaching into his pocket to cover the costs of increased security for identification.

“There’s a fee for everything,” Gennamore said.

By Lou Michel NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 01/13/08 7:16 AM

Source: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/250352.html

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