PUBLIC SUBMISSION | As of: February 16, 2009 Tracking No. 80236d67 Comments Due: May 08, 2007 |
Docket: DHS-2006-0030
Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable to Federal Agencies for Official Purposes
Comment On: DHS-2006-0030-0001
Minimum Standards for Drivers Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes
Document: DHS-2006-0030-3513
Comment Submitted By Russell Y. Neches
No matter how sophisticated the ID card is, or how difficult it is to obtain,
checking ID cards provides no security whatsoever. All of the hijackers on 9/11
used identification cards. Even if we had an absolutely foolproof identification
system, terrorists and criminals will simply target locations where
identification is not required (e.g., shopping malls, schools, sporting events).
This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a foolproof system. If this
regulation is put into practice, it will cause only minor changes to the
operational planning for a terrorist organization. It will create only small
hurdles for terrorists and lesser criminals. Indeed, it may actually help them;
once they have illegally obtained such an identification, the greater trust it
engenders on the part of law enforcement will make it easier to carry out their
crimes.
But the cost to innocent and honest people will be huge. It will cost taxpayers
billions to implement and billions to maintain. It will cost citizens yet
another measure of privacy and dignity. It will make it even more difficult and
expensive to recover from identity theft.
This is a self defeating law. Several states have already declared their
intention not to participate.