By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The REAL ID Act, enacted in 2005, aimed to establish uniform standards for state IDs for security purposes, yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now considers it unreliable for confirming U.S. citizenship. This is despite REAL IDs requiring proof of citizenship for issuance. In a court filing, DHS admitted REAL IDs’ unreliability, and that agents may disregard the ID as proof of citizenship. This stance, revealed in response to a lawsuit regarding an instance of racial profiling, raises questions about the REAL ID’s effectiveness and its adherence to the Fourth Amendment.
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DHS Says REAL ID, Which DHS Certifies, Is Too Unreliable To Confirm U.S. Citizenship
Oh boy, this whole situation is just a mess, isn’t it? The core issue is that the Department of Homeland Security, the very agency that oversees the REAL ID program, is now saying that this very same ID isn’t reliable enough to prove U.S. citizenship. It’s like the punchline to a joke that’s been in the making for twenty years. You know, back when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.
For those of us playing along at home, the REAL ID was supposed to standardize state IDs, making them more secure and supposedly a reliable way to verify identity, including citizenship or legal status. The idea was to prevent fraud and enhance security. States that complied with these standards would issue IDs with a special star on them. But, now the government is saying the REAL ID, even the ones with the coveted star, are unreliable when it comes to confirming citizenship. The fact that the federal government spent two decades creating a national ID that no one really wanted, and now says it doesn’t even work as intended, is just mind-boggling.
The recent court filing by a DHS official really highlights the problem. In a civil rights lawsuit involving a U.S. citizen who was detained during immigration raids, the official stated that the REAL ID “can be unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship.” The citizen in question, an Alabama construction worker named Leo Garcia Venegas, was detained twice, despite having a REAL ID. The agents apparently questioned the validity of his ID, even though he’s a citizen. It’s infuriating when you think about it: someone goes through the process of getting a REAL ID, which requires proof of citizenship, and then is still treated with suspicion.
And it gets even more absurd. DHS argues that because each state has its own REAL ID compliance laws, which could potentially allow non-citizens to get the ID, it can’t be fully trusted to confirm citizenship. Basically, the argument is that because the system isn’t perfect, it’s not useful. This is coming from the people who designed and implemented the system! It’s an indictment of the system itself, not just an individual’s ID.
So, where does that leave us? What’s the point of the REAL ID if it doesn’t do what it was designed to do? To top it all off, the REAL ID wasn’t ever really intended to be a national ID card in the first place, or so the government claimed. But when you have to carry a birth certificate, driver’s license, and other forms of identification, that’s what it becomes. You jump through all the hoops, you spend the money, you get the star, and then… well, it’s not enough.
And it is not lost on anyone that this entire situation raises some very troubling questions. Why are citizens even being asked to prove their citizenship in the first place? And, we have to ask ourselves, is this about security, or is it about something else entirely? Many suspect that it has a lot to do with who’s being targeted, people of color, specifically. The fact that immigration agents, acting with what appears to be little more than a hunch based on someone’s appearance, can detain a U.S. citizen who has a REAL ID speaks volumes.
The implications are far-reaching. The REAL ID has been used for voting, domestic air travel, and other essential activities. If it’s not reliable enough to confirm citizenship, what other functions will it be deemed inadequate for? Are we headed towards a situation where people are detained and their rights are violated, all because the government’s own system is unreliable? It’s a scary thought.
It’s also worth pointing out the hypocrisy here. The same people who want to restrict voting based on citizenship, using the REAL ID as a key element of the process, are now saying that the REAL ID isn’t good enough to prove citizenship. How convenient. And the cost of all of this? Not only the financial burden of obtaining a REAL ID and the time spent trying to meet their demands, but also the emotional toll, and the potential for wrongful detention and other violations of our rights.
It really does feel like a bad joke. You carry your papers, show your ID, follow the rules, and still, it’s not enough. Maybe the REAL ID will be replaced with something even more intrusive. Maybe they will demand DNA or a picture of your birth certificate and your entire family tree. Who knows? What we know for sure is that the whole thing is a mess, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.