WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today voted for additional safeguards in U.S. immigration policy, known as the REAL ID bill.  The legislation tightens federal regulations for state drivers licenses, making them both more secure and more standard from state to state.  H.R. 418 passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 261-161.

 

“This bill prioritizes the security of our borders and would make drivers licenses a secure form of identification for federal, state and local law enforcement.  A new law is necessary to close the biggest gap in homeland security and an area of great concern – miles of unsecured, unmonitored borders to our north and south as well as easily counterfeited forms of government identification. In the end, it doesn’t matter how well we screen passengers at airports if the ID of a terrorist is fake, or if he just decides to walk into our country instead of fly.”

 

Under the REAL ID bill, restrictions would be placed on states to prohibit the issuance of drivers licenses and state ID’s to illegal immigrants.  Drivers licenses would also include standard security features to prevent counterfeiting and biometric identifiers, as well as require a digital photograph of the individual.

 

“Listing the height, weight, and hair and eye color of an individual is no longer enough to assure an identity is legitimate.  The technology of terrorists and counterfeiters has advanced, and the protections used by government must keep up,” Emerson said.  “Allowing illegal immigrants to get an unsecured ID from the local Department of Motor Vehicles and then to get on an airplane is an unnecessary risk to our homeland security.”