The Department of Homeland Security website explains the basic information of the REAL ID Act that was passed by congress in 2005. The web site provides important dates such as implementation dates and the dates that all states are required to be in compliance with the Act. It states that the United States Congress feels that the Act sets the standard for regulating new state identification cards and establishes minimum security regulations for the new identification card regarding security enhancements on the identification cards themselves. There is also information pertaining to the phases where citizens without an enhanced driver’s license will not be able to access certain facilities such as restricted areas, nuclear power plants, and …show more content…
Department of Homeland Security. (2005). REAL ID Act Title II H.R. 1268. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/real-id-act-text.pdf.
This is the Title that was passed by United States Congress in 2005 in response to the necessity for better regulation requirements of state identification cards and driver’s license. It provides a full list of the required information that must be included on identification cards for states and citizens to obtain an enhanced driver’s license. Some of the specific requirements are full names, date of birth, gender, license and identification card numbers, resident verification, a signature, and security features that would make tampering more difficult. It also has document requirements like state and photo identifications, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and address verification documents including electric bills, income tax, mortgage notes. It includes material on the use of passports and immigration documents. There is a section that deals with criminal penalties for attempting to use a driver’s license inappropriately. Lastly, there is a short prevision that offers grants for states to assist them in meeting the requirements set forth by this title. This again, is factual information provided by the United States Government. The information contained in the title section is likely the most vital source of my essay.
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Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws have made trouble in states, including Texas, regarding to the various amount of identification requirements needed.
With so many victims of identity theft every year, you may be asking yourself, well what is our government or law enforcement officials doing to protect us against identity theft? In the article “Congress gets a chance to combat identity theft,” Kristof (2007) writes that “A decade ago identity
There is no doubt that the attacks on 9/11 caused Congress to pass the Real ID Act in order to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining a U.S. driver’s license. Congress said the Real ID Act is about security, not stigmas. The law was intended to set principles for states that issue licenses and to procure acceptable documents. However, due to budgets, there are not enough resources to verify the accuracy of these documents from foreign countries. This is based solely on three 9/11 hijackers being able to obtain state identification cards while using fictitious documents. In total, thirty three hijackers acquired state driver’s licenses. Unfortunately, stern stipulations have gradually decreased due to several states and local governments allowing Identification cards to be issued without distinguishing from an authentic driver’s license (Jeunesse, 2015).
Furthermore, in her review "Burdening The Right To Vote: Assessing The Impact Of Mandatory Photo Identification Requirements On Minority Voting Strength,” Kristen Clarke discusses how requiring photo ID’s can greatly affect African Americans and Latinos and their participation in elections. In his article "Lower Voter Turnout is seen in States that Require ID,” Christopher Drew also discusses some of the inconveniences possibly causing potential voters not to vote such as having proper identification or being unaware of further requirements needed when arriving at the polls. Both political parties have completely different views on the real purpose of some of the voter restriction laws and requiring photo ID’s which would be one more obstacle
In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s law despite lack of evidence of voter fraud. In Texas, however, voter fraud is a real concern. In a column by Greg Abbott, the Texas Attorney General, he states, “In recent years, my office has secured more than 50 voter fraud convictions. Those include a woman who voted in place of her dead mother, a political operative who cast ballots for two people, and a city councilmember who registered foreign nationals to vote in an election decided by 19 votes. Voter fraud is hard to detect, so cases like these are just the tip of the iceberg.” Texas legislature believes that requiring photo identification is a simply way to prevent these fraud issues from occurring. Not everyone agrees with the motives of the
Texas’ voter ID law is one of the strictest in the nation. Discriminatory evidence the majority opinion might see is in the list of acceptable forms of identification. There are seven acceptable forms of identification, which includes a handgun license, but not a student ID. This can be seen as discriminatory towards students who possess a student ID, but not one of the forms of identification specified by the voter ID law. On the basis that younger voters tend to lean towards Democratic opinions. Certain Justices of the Court, like Ginsburg, might find this as proof that with the voter ID law, Texas legislatures are trying to refrain from demographic changes of the state. The law is discriminatory against minorities and poor voters in that not all of these individuals have one of the acceptable forms of identification. Accessing one of these forms of identification could be costly and inconvenient. In order to obtain a Texas ID or drivers license, one must visit a DMV. This can be difficult for individuals who live a significant distance from a DMV and those who do not have a
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a section of the U.S. federal government that protects the United States on a daily basis. The Department of Homeland Security is for the protection of the United States of America from terrorist attacks, man -made accidents and natural disasters. This department also has made a scale of terrorism threat which goes from low to severe. The Department of Homeland Security was formed on November 25, 2002, following 9/11. September 11, 2001, was proof that America was as a target to terrorism like other countries and killed 2,977 people. It was 2002 when The United States Department of Homeland Security was formed. Following 9/11, George Bush announced the creation of the Office of
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was constructed during the time of government reorganization and has become the largest restructured group in the American government in more than a half-century. The restructuring incorporated the association of constituents and agencies from diverse organizations to form an integrated section centered on homeland security. Statistically the DHS offered job opportunities by consuming roughly 240,000 citizens in 2015 only and spending nearly $61 billion. On account, the third largest agency in the Cabinet has spent $544 billion approximately on its programs since 2003 (Congressional Budget Office, 2012). Senate has given The Department of Homeland Security the responsibility of safeguarding the country.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is third largest Executive Department of the Federal Government charged with protecting the security of American homeland. Its primary mission is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reducing vulnerability to terrorism and minimizing the damage from potential attacks and natural disasters. The DHS was created by President G.W. Bush in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on America in 2001. It is relatively new agency that continues to evolve in the 21st century. In my chosen topic I will perform research on the history and creation of Department of Homeland Security, identify 3 of the 22 agencies within the DHS and describe their responsibilities. The purpose of this paper is to define and give detailed information about Homeland Security in the United States. Exploration of this topic will enhance knowledge about DHS and help understand the responsibilities of the agencies.
After the attacks on September 11th, 2001 the United States was forced to reassess its policies over the defense of the country within its borders. Until that time the United States’ homeland security was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (Masse, O’Neil, & Rollins, 2007). After the attack the Executive branch of the government created a new organization that would be responsible for deciding where the biggest threats to the country were. This was the birth of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for assessing all risk to the Nation within its borders and developing way to mitigate these threats before a disaster can take place. One of the documents that the Department of
This specific federal agency continually focuses on the importance of information sharing; it is committed to ensuring that all levels of law enforcement and those on the front lines have this information available (Homeland Security, d). This information gathering/sharing relies on using Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), preventing and combating serious crime agreements (PCSC), and agreements to share information on lost and stolen passports. DHS also works closely with the FBI to increase sharing of information with partners. In addition, the other resources that are relied on to help with this include working with national network of fusion center, nationwide suspicious activity reporting initiative, national
But it must declare a disclaimer by updating its policy stating, federalism limits the government by creating two self-governing powers—the national government and state governments—thus limiting the influence of both on each other. By putting out this condition, it will challenge the incoming federal government or future federal government agencies when they try to collect the resident’s data. The policy should also give the NYC ID holders the privilege to revoke the ID whenever they want and the city will be required to erase the information of the constituent including names and addresses but only under special circumstances with permission given from the authority. It should also notify the municipal ID receivers that if they choose to opt out of the program their name and address will be on the record. It will help them better to understand their rights when residents apply for this
The security and management of our nation’s borders remains an emotionally charged and controversial topic. The DHS goals are to control U.S. air, land, and sea borders, safeguard lawful trade and travel, and the disruption and dismantlement of transnational criminal organizations (U.S. Department of
The necessity or redundancy of voter photo identification is a prominent topic in the news as the presidential election approaches. Multiple states in America require proper photo identification in order to vote, but not all agree with these laws. “Why New Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won't Vote” by PBS argues that photo identification laws prevent millions of Americans from voting due to the often difficult process of obtaining one. “Voter ID Should Be Required for Voting” by Chris Freind supports the opposite view, believing that photo identification laws ensure only American citizens are allowed to
These days, many of the things we do are online. We not only entertain ourselves online, but we also do things that make our lives easier, like paying our bills, buying things we need, and communicating. As time passes, we come up with more ideas to facilitate our lives with the help of technology. Many countries come up with new technology and ways to do this. A country that has succeeded at facilitating their lives is Estonia. In Estonia, not only was Skype created there, this useful tool called the digital ID was produced. The digital ID, like a regular ID but with a chip that contains the owner’s identity information, helps people use many technological services created by Estonia. The United States should adopt this digital ID