Just when I thought that RealID might collapse due to resistance from states not wanting to make DMV’s any more hellish than they already are… New York adopts an even more bureaucratic solution. From an AP story:
Saturday’s agreement with the Homeland Security Department will create a three-tier license system in New York. It is the largest state to sign on so far to the government’s post-Sept. 11 effort to make identification cards more secure.[...]
Under the compromise, New York will produce an “enhanced driver’s license” that will be as secure as a passport. It is intended for people who soon will need to meet such ID requirements, even for a short drive to Canada.
A second version of the license will meet new federal standards of the Real ID Act. That law is designed to make it much harder for illegal immigrants or would-be terrorists to obtain licenses.
A third type of license will be available to undocumented immigrants. Spitzer has said this ID will make the state more secure by bringing those people “out of the shadows” and into American society, and will lower auto insurance rates.
I can’t help but wonder how few undocumented immigrants will actually go for the non-RealID drivers license, given that it would be a pretty blatant flag of their status.