DHS evaluating chipped license proposal

The Department of Homeland Security is proceeding to evaluate Washington state's proposal for a driver's license "enhanced" with a radio frequency identification, or RFID, chip that would encode personal information.

As WND reported , in a recorded interview earlier this month, DHS spokeswoman Naomi Elmer told WND the Washington state proposal was being considered as an initiative under the Real ID Act – the controversial measure passed in 2005 that includes standardization of state driver's licenses. Nearly half the states have voted not to participate amid criticism it will result in a de facto national ID card.

DHS contacted WND, however, stating Elmer had made an error. Spokesman William "Ross" Knocke said the Washington application was being considered under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, not Real ID.

Knocke clarified that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a congressional mandate under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

DHS has issued WHTI requirements that as of Jan.23, U.S. citizens traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda are now required to present a valid passport to enter or re-enter the U.S.

DHS plans to issue comparable WHTI requirements for land and sea travel to be implemented as early as Jan. 1, 2008.

"The goal of WHTI is to get the use of more secure travel documents for travelers throughout the Western Hemisphere," Knocke explained. "The state of Washington has put forward a very interesting proposal, and we're quite pleased to be working with them on this."

Knocke said Washington has "proposed to use increased security capabilities for their state-issued driver's licenses and to potentially use advanced technologies in a way that could provide an alternative to the requirements for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for land."

"DHS is already working with the Department of State on one possible alternative document that is called a 'pass card,'" Knocke told WND.

A "pass card" Knocke explained, would be roughly the same size as a state-issued driver's license.

He suggested it might be more convenient if individuals are concerned about the size of a passport and would want something wallet-sized and cheaper than a passport.

Knocke said the Washington state proposed "enhanced" driver's license was being considered as an alternative to the State Department's "pass card" under WHTI.

Current passports issued by the State Department do not contain RFID chips. Knocke told WND the State Department is not considering placing RFID chips in the proposed WHTI "pass cards."

"At present our front-line Customs and Border Protection personnel are able to consider as many as 8,000 different legitimate documents when making admissibility decisions about who comes into our country and who does not," Knocke continued. "That is a staggering number of documents that could be considered as legitimate for entry into the country."

Knocke told WND the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is aimed both "at significantly reducing the volume of documents that are going to be legitimate for entry into the country, and strengthening the security, or the integrity, of the documents, cutting down on possible fraud, identity-theft and other forms of criminal activity."

Knocke emphasized WHTI and Real ID are separate programs.

"Real ID is a separate congressional mandate under the Real ID Act of 2005 that is designed to strengthen the security of state-issued driver's licenses," he explained. "All 50 states currently adjudicate their driver's licenses, but there are not uniform standards for the security and integrity of these documents across the country. The standards for issuing driver's licenses vary by state."

"We saw in 9/11 several instances how state-issued driver's licenses have been exploited," he continued. "This is a known vulnerability that the 9/11 commission identified, and we have been very vocal about."

On March 1, DHS issued proposed regulations for enhanced driver's licenses under Real ID. The regulations were submitted to the Federal Register for a 60-day public comment period.

The basic concept of the proposed regulations is that states issuing driver's licenses will need to have procedures in place to check the validity of documents presented to establish identity when an individual applies for a driver's license.

To comply with Real ID, applicants for state driver's licenses will have to prove five things: who they are, their date of birth, their legal status in the U.S., their social security number and address.

DHS has granted an extension until Dec. 31, 2009, for states to become compliant with Real ID requirements.

Knocke noted that when Real ID goes into effect, states could choose to comply with Real ID.

"The citizens of states that decide not to comply with Real ID are not going to be happy with that decision," Knocke argued. "At present, when you fly commercial airlines, you present a photo ID with your airlines ticket to the TSA screener. After the Real ID implementation date, TSA screeners will not accept for identification driver's licenses that are not Real ID compliant. Instead, you will have to have another form of secure ID, such as a passport."

Also, Knocke explained, only licenses compatible with Real ID will allow a person entry into places such as federal buildings and critical infrastructure sites, including electrical plants, nuclear facilities and military installations.

"I cannot imagine there's a state government anywhere or a citizen from a state anywhere in America that wants to be dragged up before a future 9/11 commission," he argued, "and have to explain why they chose against increasing the integrity of their state-issued driver's licenses."

Knocke noted embedding RFID technology will not necessarily be a Real ID requirement.

WND pointed out to Knocke RFID technology is embedded in the driver identifications issued in the FAST border-crossing program, which enables truckers to pass through customs within 15 seconds.

"DHS is not necessarily looking to integrate the use of RFID technology into all identification programs," Knocke said. "DHS uses RFID technologies when a program or initiative requires it, not otherwise."

Knocke said RFID is not always the "DHS solution."

"In some programs, RFID is effective in accomplishing the required outcomes, in other programs, based upon the nature and intent of the program, RFID might not be effective," he said.

Knocke said DHS has determined not to use RFID in the U.S. Visit Exit program.

"In U.S. Visit Exit, DHS has determined that RFID is not the right solution," he said. "But that is not a statement one way a judgment about the use of RFID as a tool. It's just a fact that as we have done our own testing, our own research, and our own development, and we have concluded that RFID is not the right solution in the U.S. Visit Exit program."

According to the DHS website, the U.S. Visit program begins overseas, at U.S. consular offices issuing visas, where visitor's biometrics – digital fingerscans and photographs – are collected and checked against a database of known criminal and suspected terrorists.

When the visitor arrives in the U.S., the same biometrics are used to verify the identity of the person. U.S. Visit Exit applies to the DHS procedures implemented when the person under the U.S. visit program leaves the country.

"If in the pilot the state of Washington decides they want to look at how RFID could be a part of their possible alternative solution under WHTI, that's well and good, and we will continue to work with them on that, or any other ideas they may have to be possible solutions for WHTI on land," he said.

Finally, Knocke acknowledged to WND the Washington State RFID "enhanced" driver's license might qualify for compliance under Real ID as well as under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Still, he cautioned that determinations about the Washington State "enhanced" driver's license could not be concluded until the final requirements of Real ID were issued by DHS and until the Washington State pilot program was completed and evaluated.