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ImmigrationProf Blog
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REAL ID a Pain for the States

By immigrationprof

The REAL ID Act mandates federal standards for driver’s licenses.  Some states have complained about the costs and headaches of the mandatory federal standards.  According to  the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

“About 800,000 Wisconsinites will have to renew their driver’s licenses early if they want to use them to board airplanes under a federal anti-terrorism law requiring more secure IDs, according to the state Department of Transportation.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 29, 2008. The federal Real ID law requires that the new IDs and licenses be issued by December 2014 to people who have not turned 50 by then, but thousands of already-issued licenses don’t expire until after that time. Those drivers will have to come in early to get the federally sanctioned IDs if they want to use them to get on an airplane or enter a federal courthouse. Most licenses in Wisconsin are good for eight years. “This really is a program that the federal government foisted on the states without any input from the states, just said this is a good idea, you guys go do it,” Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday. “There are huge decisions to be made.””

KJ