All states pay allegiance to Real ID
Maine is the last state to be granted a waiver for the implementation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Real ID program. With drivers licenses that do not require any check for residency or immigration status, Maine has been a favorite of illegal immigrants needing licenses.
Three of the last four states — MT, NH & SC — to send letters to DHS have all claimed that their licenses have plenty of security checks and that the new federal rules were overkill. Maine, on the other hand, with a licensing procedure ripe for misuse agreed to introduce legislation to overhaul their processes.
It will take a legislative vote, however according to the Portland Press Herald the state has agreed to comply.
In his letter, Baldacci told Chertoff that he would introduce legislation “to halt Maine’s current practice of issuing licenses” to people who could be in the United States illegally.
The governor’s legislation also would require that Maine use a federal database to verify the validity of residency documents, ensure that aliens’ driver’s licenses expire when their legal status in the United States ends, and guarantee that people do not get multiple licenses or ID cards from the state.
A fifth concession – requiring that the state take photos of license applicants at the start of the process, whether they ultimately get licenses or not – can be implemented by the secretary of state without any changes in state law. Dunlap said he is researching the cost of doing so.
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