US immigration legislation online

2005 Real ID Act (An act making emergency supplemental appropriations for defense, the global war on terror, and tsunami relief, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes - Division B)

H.R. 1268; Pub.L. 109-13; 119 Stat. 302.

109th Congress; May 11, 2005.

You can find the full text of this law from the GPO as text or PDF.

SUMMARY

Overview

The 9/11 Commission (originally named the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States) made immigration and document security recommendations after completing their investigation in 2004. Of those recommendations, the following were included in the Real ID Act of 2005: national standards for drivers licenses and non-driver identification cards were established; definitions of terrorist organizations and terrorist activity were expanded; criteria for asylum eligibility was modified; judicial review of certain immigration decisions were further limited; waiver authority to construct barriers along the border was expanded; an aviation screening database was established.

(Summary by Michele Kuntz and Jennifer Stawski)

Focus on: Title I sec. 103, 105

Title I of the Real ID Act is a list of amendments to be made to other Federal laws which "protect against terrorist entry." Section 103 was written to amend section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and defines the "Terrorist," the meaning of "Engage in Terrorist Activity," and the "Terrorist Organization." The "Terrorist" is any alien who is engaged in, or incites Terrorist Activity, represents or is a member of a Terrorist Organization, and who supports or endorses Terrorist Activity. They have the "intention to cause death or serious bodily harm" by terrorist activity. Also included are the spouse and child of an alien that fits the description of a terrorist and any alien who has military training from or on behalf of a Terrorist Organization.

The definition of "Engage in Terrorist Activity" includes membership in a Terrorist Organization, which intends, incites, prepares a plan or solicits funds to commit a terrorist activity. Material support of terrorists is also considered to be terrorist activity and is defined as providing a safe house, transportation, communication, financial assistance, false documents or identification and weapons. A "Terrorist Organization" includes the definition in section 219 of the INA, plus organizations listed on a Federal Register and any group of 2 or more individuals who engage in terrorist activities.

Section 105 addresses the Removal of Terrorists and states the alien as now described, is deportable. It also repeals section 5402 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

(Summary by Jennifer Stawski)

Focus on: Title II sec. 201-202

The 2005 Real ID Act is an effort to establish national standards for driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards. The main objective of Title II, section 201 is to define key terminology used in section 202. The five key terms included: driver’s license, identification card, official purpose, secretary and state. The main objective of section 202 is to lay out in detail what the minimum document requirements and issuance standards are for federal recognition in the United States. To meet the minimum standards for federal use requires that a federal agency not accept a driver’s license or I.D. card issued by a state to any person unless the state is meeting the requirements of section 202. To meet the requirements for the minimum documentation, a state is to include: full legal name, date of birth, gender, their driver’s license or I.D. number, a digital photograph, address of principle residences, signature, physical features to prevent tampering along with features on each driver’s license and I.D. card issued to a person. To meet the minimum issuance standards, a state should require presentation and verification of certain personal information before issuing a drivers license or I.D card. Because unauthorized immigrants are not eligible, special requirements must be met by the state. The state must require evidence of lawful status and with this a person may become eligible for a temporary driver’s license or I.D. card. However, the individual must be able to provide verification of their documents. To meet the other requirements, the state must adopt 13 key practices when issuing driver’s licenses and I.D. cards.]

(Summary by Michele Kuntz)

RELATED SITES

H.R. 1268 [109th]: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005 - This page includes many details about the bill and has an excellent summary.

The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis (opens PDF) - This article provides a summary of the Real ID Act which portrays data surrounding many of the reasons it has not yet passed into law.

National ID Cards and Real ID Act - This website includes the latest news and events regarding the 2005 Real ID Act which are useful if researching the act.

Congressional Research Service Report RL32754: Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of the Real ID Act of 2005 (5/28/05) (opens PDF) - The main page for Congressional Research Service Reports is here.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Terrorism Prevention - This page has links to counter terrorism conventions, protocols, synergy efforts and U.N. Resolution 60/288, UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

US Department of State: The Terrorist Enemy - This site includes the official information that defines the enemy and conditions they exploit.

American Civil Liberties Union: Immigrants' Rights - The website has a vast amount of information that includes news items and feature articles about many civil rights issues.

Detention Watch Network - The website includes information about detention and deportation, human stories, related news articles and statistics.