A Plea for REAL ID

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At their weekly caucus meeting on February 3rd, Republican Senators pressed Administration officials to implement the federal REAL ID program in Maryland.

Maryland is one of only four states nationwide that does not require a driver's license applicant to prove "legal presence" in order to obtain a license. This makes Maryland a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants who need to secure an identification card throughout the East Coast .

Administration officials provided caucus members with a report showing that significant progress has been made in achieving the 18 benchmarks required under the federal REAL ID law. However, a waiver provision that currently exists for applicants who do not have a Social Security number provides a loophole for those who are in the country illegally.

Senator Lowell Stoltzfus sharply questioned the Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Administration about why requiring "legal presence" had not been given the highest priority of all 18 benchmarks. In response, the caucus learned that between six to twelve states currently will not accept a Maryland driver's license for proof of legal residence in applications presented to that state.

Republican Senators urged transportation officials to reconsider their past positions that have delayed the implementation of "legal presence" requirements.

Obviously, part of the problem is that Democrat legislators have lobbied the other side of this issue with the Adminstration. In fact, during the previous week, a dozen legislators met with Governor O'Malley to demand that the current policy of not requiring legal presence be continued, according to the Washington Post (to see the blog coverage of this meeting click here).

After the caucus meeting, Republican Senators renewed their efforts to achieve the "legal presence" requirements through legislative action. Bills have been introduced on this topic by Senator Janet Greenip (Senate Bill 27 and Senate Bill 244), Senator David Brinkley (Senate Bill 208) and Senator Norman Stone (Senate Bill 369).