Home pagePress CenterIn the Media James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology and Public Policy Program, was quoted in Parade magazine, "The Move Toward a National ID."
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James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology and Public Policy Program, was quoted in Parade magazine, "The Move Toward a National ID."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is headed for a showdown this spring with several states over national identification cards. The Real ID Act—establishing a tamper-proof ID system—was passed in 2005 in response to the finding that 18 of the 9/11 hijackers held fake driver’s licenses and IDs under 364 aliases. Last month, the DHS issued final regulations and a warning to states: Say you’ll participate or in May your residents may not be able to use their driver’s licenses to board planes or enter federal buildings. At least 17 states, including Illinois and Georgia, have passed laws opposing Real ID. They object to the projected $11 billion cost, and privacy advocates are waving red flags. “It makes people anxious because of the domestic-surveillance programs that have sprung up in recent years,” says James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The DHS believes the concerns are unfounded and stresses the need for secure national ID standards. “People assume that every state checks for valid documents when someone applies for a driver’s license,” says DHS spokesperson Amy Kudwa. “This is not true, but Real ID will ensure this happens.”
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
