When you were little, a gold star was a reward and a symbol of doing a good job. Now that you are grown up, “good” boys and girls who verify their identity—and are in a facial recognition database—get REAL ID gold stars on their driver’s licenses. For those people, nothing will change when dealing with the TSA. But in April, will people from “bad” states, without a gold star on their driver’s license, need a backup “approved” ID like a passport to board a plane that never leaves America?
Kansas has begun rolling out Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses. Some may need to get theirs early if they want to fly after September 2020.
So that must mean there is no identity theft in the DHS-certified-as-REAL-ID-compliant states? Whoops, Houston, we seem to have a problem, as “REAL ID” hasn’t killed the identity theft bogeyman. In fact, according to the FTC’s last Consumer Sentinel Network report, the top 10 states where identity theft runs rampant are: 1) Florida, 2) Georgia, 3) California, 4) Michigan, 5) New York, 6) Nevada, 7) Texas, 8) Arizona, 9) Maryland and 10) Alabama. But only New York and Arizona are listed among the states that do not meet the law’s “REAL ID” standards.
REAL ID was supposed to go into effect in May 2008, but the government has delayed enforcing it four different times. Right now, “Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Washington state do not currently meet the law's standards, according to DHS. Another 15 states do not yet meet the requirements but have asked the federal government for more time to do so. They all have extensions through October and can renew those extensions.”
AxXiom for Liberty’s Kaye Beach, who has written tirelessly about Real ID and RFID, previously explained, “Under REAL ID, licenses are to be machine readable and contain biometric data (including facial biometrics). This and other information is to be shared nationally and internationally.”
Around the same time, Brian Zimmer, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License (CSDL) warned that, “People who obtain non-compliant driver's licenses need to know that they will have to provide other acceptable IDs, such as passports, to get through security screening at the airports.'
Stopping terrorists from obtaining driver’s licenses was supposedly why Congress passed the REAL ID Act nearly a decade ago. Yet in a report last year, CSDL Director of Research Max Bluestein said, 'The al-Qaeda training manual explicitly instructs operatives to obtain fake IDs - a key part of the process of their attacks. This directive was followed by the 9/11 terrorists and these documents continue to play a crucial operational role in many of the 60 major terrorist plots uncovered since.'
60? NSA Chief General Keith Alexander claimed “54” or “more than 50” potential terrorist events had been thwarted by government surveillance since 9/11; he later admitted that only 13 were even related to the U.S. and only “one, perhaps two were halted by business records collections.” It’s important to point out that despite being privy to classified NSA metadata surveillance program material, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board testified [pdf], “We are aware of no instance in which the program directly contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the disruption of a terrorist attack.'
Equating not having a REAL ID driver’s license to potentially having a fake ID to carry out terrorism is a stretch. 13 states don’t have REAL ID, so is the TSA going to stop people without a gold star on their driver’s license from boarding a plane? 'Nobody has ever done this before,” Zimmer recently admitted, “so enforcing this law is going to be a major challenge.'
In April, the law kicks in, so I guess we’ll find out if the TSA will require a passport in lieu of a REAL ID driver’s license. But ACLU attorney Chris Calabrese said, 'It is impossible to imagine DHS keeping the citizens of any of those states off of airplanes.”
USA Today reported that residents living in holdout states will really face consequences 'sometime after 2016,' as 'they will no longer be able to board commercial aircraft with only their driver's license.'
It seems as ridiculous as submitting to TSA security pat-downs that Americans would need a passport to board a plane that never leaves the USA and might not even leave the state in which the flight originated. In fact, it brings to mind a time when the TSA had plans to track all daily travel regardless of if it was to work, to the grocery store, or to social events.
Two years ago, senior policy analyst at the Center for Health and Homeland Security Vernon R. Herron told MSNBC:
that your official travel document 'will not only have information as to who you are and where you have traveled, but it will also ... allow government officials to track your travel not only in the air, but your daily travels to work, grocery stores and social events.' In the future the 'government will detain passengers who have traveled to places that are suspicious in nature' once they enter an airport, Herron added. 'All these measures seem extreme. However, after we declared a war on terror, we must be more proactive than reactive when it comes to airport security.'
That seemed fairly unrealistic at the time. But now ... who knows? Once upon a time, Homeland Security was also testing mind-reading terrorist 'pre-crime' detectors.
Any new resident with a valid license from another state must obtain a Nebraska license within 30 days.
All new applicants (first time Nebraska applicant or applicant’s presenting valid out of state documents) are required to provide proof of citizenship one time. Once proof of citizenship has been presented, proof will not be required on subsequent visits to the driver licensing offices. Refer to Document Verification Requirements document for more information. Real ID compliant documents may be used to waive tests, but are not acceptable for proof of identification.
New residents to Nebraska will be required to provide:
Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Status, containing Name and Date of Birth, and Identity.
Principal Address in Nebraska (at least two documents are required).
Applicants must disclose their valid social security number which can be verified through the Social Security Administration or show proof of exemption from the requirement by presenting a valid, unexpired Record of Arrival and Departure in a valid foreign passport (I-94 or I-94A).
Bring all required documentation to a driver's licensing location to obtain your new Nebraska document.
What is the real ID indicator?
The gold star or star outlined in gold is the indicator.
New residents 18 or older
Surrendering a valid out of state license: vision test required, drive test administered at discretion of driver licensing staff. If unable to surrender the out of state license, the written and drive tests will be required. If you present an expired driver's license that is less than one year expired, the drive test may be waived.
Note for New Residents turning 21: If you obtain your Nebraska license prior to your 21st birthday, the Nebraska document will expire on your 21st birthday. You can then renew this document 10 days prior to your 21st birthday.
New residents under age 18
What Does Yellow Star On Driver's License Mean
You must meet all Provisional Operator's Permit (POP) requirements and obtain a POP.