The so-called Real ID Act , which passed in both congressional houses last Thursday, states that DMVs can only issue national driver’s licenses to qualifying applicants who prove their legal presence in the U.S. and furnish a valid social security number.  

As expected, the act has roused debate throughout the nation, with one side vouching for the “Real IDs” promise to fortify national security, and the other side decrying the act’s oblique “infringements on civil liberty,” its requirement of extra personal documents to “prequalify” applicants for driver’s licenses. Detractors (many of whom are ACLU affiliates) also argue that the act does not target potential foreign terrorists on overstayed Visas as thought, but will intimidate harmless illegal residents, who will forego important driver’s training and licensing procedures for fear of being caught and deported.  

Toyin