Wednesday, October 3, 2012

DEPARTMENT of HOMELAND SECURITY - OBAMA'S DEPT of OPEN BORDERS TO BUILD HIS PARTY BASE of ILLEGALS


UNDER LA RAZA SUPREMACIST JANET NAPOLITANO, DEPT of HOMELAND SECURITY IS NOW DHS = PATHWAY TO AMERICAN JOBS and CITIZENSHIP!

OBAMA HAS HIS CORRUPT LA RAZA INFESTED ADMIN HAS SQUANDERED BILLIONS PROTECTING THE BORDERS OF MUSLIM DICTATORS, WHILE HE HAS PUSHED OUR BORDERS WITH NARCOMEX OPEN WIDER.

EVERY DAY THERE ARE 12 AMERICANS MURDERED BY MEXICANS.

ACCORDING TO THE CA ATTORNEY GEN KAMALA HARRIS, NEARLY HALF OF ALL MURDERS IN MEX-OCCUPIED CA ARE BY MEXICAN GANGS!

VIVA LA RAZA SUPREMACY?

DO A SEARCH FOR OBAMA AND LA RAZA. IT OPERATES OUT OF THE OBAMA WHITE HOUSE UNDER CECILIA MUNOZ 

DHS Fails to Help States Comply with REAL ID, Says GAO Report

Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing the current levels of REAL ID compliance among the different states. (GAO Report, Sept. 2012) Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission as a means to combat driver's license fraud, a weakness exploited by the 9/11 hijackers. (See Public Law 109–13 Division B Title II, March 2011; see also FAIR Fact Sheet on REAL ID, 2009; see also FAIR Fact Sheet on the Identity and Immigration Status of the 9/11 Terrorists, 2011)

While it is not mandatory for states to comply with the act, the act establishes specific procedures states must follow when issuing driver's licenses in order for the federal government to accept those licenses for "official purposes." (See Public Law 109–13 Div. B Title II Sec. 202(d)(11)(A), March 2011) Included under "official purposes" are boarding commercial aircraft, entering federal buildings, and entering nuclear power plants. (See Public Law 109–13 Div. B Title II Sec. 201(3); see also GAO Report at p.4, Sept. 2012)

According to GAO, most states have taken steps to combat driver's license fraud, although the steps may not necessarily be REAL ID compliant. Those states that have employed anti-fraud measures have reported success. For example, "the number of states verifying [Social Security Numbers] with [the Social Security Administration] has increased substantially" since an earlier study by GAO in 2003. (GAO Report at p. 8-12, Sept. 2012) Accordingly, since states began checking the authenticity of Social Security numbers, the amount of this type of fraud "has declined significantly" and "is no longer the main type of fraud [officials] see." (GAO Report at p. 16, Sept. 2012) Additionally, most states are training employees to detect fraudulent documents. (GAO Report at p. 8-12, Sept. 2012) Officials in the majority of states included in GAO's study "said they have seen a decline in attempts to obtain licenses using counterfeit documents," which they attribute to staff being "better trained on how to check for security features." (GAO Report at p. 15-16, Sept. 2012)

Despite the success some states have experienced in integrating anti-fraud measures, a GAO investigation revealed that several vulnerabilities still remain. To conduct its investigation, GAO selected several states where GAO employees posed as driver's license applicants and submitted fraudulent documents. (GAO Report at p. 23-24, Sept. 2012) The first vulnerability they found is the ability of applicants to obtain multiple licenses under different identities due to a lack of biometric technology and photo sharing between states. (Id.) Not all states have incorporated biometric technology, and according to officials in one state GAO studied, cross-state facial recognition software is only used "in limited circumstances, such as when there is reason to suspect license fraud," instead of as part of standard fraud detection practices. (GAO Report at p. 11-12, Sept. 2012)

The second remaining vulnerability they found is that state employees are unable to detect counterfeit birth certificate as proof of identification to obtain licenses. Because birth certificates' security features vary by county, counterfeits are difficult to spot visually. (GAO Report at p. 23-24, Sept. 2012) According to the GAO employees conducting the investigation, none of the staff processing their applications even "questioned the validity of the counterfeit birth certificates presented" or consulted any systems that could help verify the document. (Id.)

The final vulnerability GAO discovered is the use of fraudulent licenses across state lines. (GAO Report at p. 23-24, Sept. 2012) According to interviews conducted in select states by GAO, "officials in all the states…acknowledged they lack the ability to consistently determine if the identity presented by a license applicant is already associated with a license-holder in another state." (GAO Report at p.16, Sept. 2012) At the time of GAO's report, no systems to verify licenses presented from other states were operational, although many states expressed an interest in the concept. (GAO Report at p.18, Sept. 2012)

According to the GAO, DHS has failed to provide adequate leadership in helping states address these vulnerabilities and achieve REAL ID compatibility. According to testimony by DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman in a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Mar. 21, 2012, DHS '[planned] to issue additional guidance in the near future to clarify the minimum standards that states and territories must meet to achieve full compliance with the Act and provide examples of how states can meet them." (Testimony of David Heyman, Mar. 21, 2012, see also FAIR Legislative Update, Mar. 26, 2012) But according to GAO, DHS officials have since decided to reevaluate that decision in favor of only responding to direct questions from state officials. Yet "officials in most states [GAO] interviewed expressed a need for additional guidance" from DHS, having been left with a "lack of clarity." (GAO Report at p. 29-30, Sept. 2012) According to the report, some states that sent questions to DHS never received a response, leaving them in a position where they were forced to "make assumptions" on how to fulfill REAL ID requirements. (Id.)

Despite specific criteria set forth by Congress, DHS intends to allow states to develop their own compliance programs, so long as such programs are generally "comparable to the requirements" of REAL ID regulation. (Testimony of David Heyman, Mar. 21, 2012) According to GAO, "DHS plans to consider alternatives states propose in their compliance plans. DHS officials said they believe this approach gives states opportunities to develop innovative solutions and flexibility to consider their own circumstance." (GAO Report at p. 31, Sept. 2012)

Since the law's passage in 2005, DHS has delayed implementation of REAL ID three times. The most recent instance occurred in March of last year, when Secretary Napolitano announced DHS' decision to push the compliance date back to January 2013. (Fox News, March 5, 2011; FAIR Legislative Update, Mar. 7, 2011)

REAL ID requirements will officially take effect on Jan. 15, 2013. While REAL ID was originally supposed to be implemented in 2008, the deadline was extended on three separate occasions by DHS. (FOX News, Mar. 5, 2011) After Jan. 15, individuals born after Dec. 1, 1964 have a grace period through Dec. 1, 2014 to be issued a REAL ID compliant license for official purposes. (See 6 C.F.R. § 37.5) Individuals born before Dec. 1, 1964 must be issued a REAL ID compliant license by Dec. 1, 2017. (Id.)

 

No comments: