Samantha Kluth
Iron Quill

The Real ID Act, approved by Congress in 2005, is causing an uproar among states. Twenty-nine states, including Arizona, have rebelled against the act, stating that it is an “invasion of privacy”.

The Real ID Act’s primary purpose is to give each American citizen a new identification card. Unlike the old identification system, the new cards would include the owner’s fingerprint and eye picture. All IDs would also be under a single national system, instead of being separated by state. Similar to the present regulations, without this card individuals would not be able to board any airplanes, or ships making it terribly difficult to enter the US illegally.

The act was originally designed to help combat terrorists and illegal aliens, but since the IDs would be under one program, the Department of Homeland Security would also be able to search for and track criminals more efficiently. Additionally, since the cards would be nationally issued and contain such personally identifiable information, the government believes that it will be harder to produce fake IDs.

Currently, out of the thirty states reviewing the act, only Utah is considering passing it. Most states feel that the act is an “invasion of privacy”.

“I don’t want my personal information on my driver’s license,” said Dominique Bracy, an Ironwood Ridge High School senior.

Junior Alyssa Reed agreed with Bracy stating that “the government has no right,” and that the information listed is “her business”.

On the other hand, junior Sheidi Berumen thought that “if [the Real ID Act] stops terrorists, then it’s worth it”.

Sophomore Kourtney Wilson agreed with Berumen and thought that “changing the license would be an excellent idea”.

Unfortunately, protecting the United States from terrorists comes at a terrible price. To install the necessary technology in every Motor Vehicle Department throughout the United States would cost about 15 billion dollars. What makes the cost even more detrimental is that each state would be responsible for providing the new IDs at their own expense—amounting to about 300 million dollars per state.