The rebellion against the REAL ID Act keeps growing -- last week, Montana became the fifth state to push back against the federal government's unfunded national ID mandate. Don't miss out on these critical opportunities to make a difference and help stop this privacy-invasive policy:

  • Send comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by visiting our action center. DHS is currently taking comments on its draft regulations for implementing REAL ID, and the deadline is May 8. The draft regulations do nothing to change the fact that REAL ID is fundamentally flawed -- once it is implemented, uses of the IDs and related databases will inevitably expand to facilitate a wide range of tracking and surveillance activities. Worse still, states and individual taxpayers will bear the estimated 23 billion dollar burden of implementing the law, and that figure is probably low given that the necessary verification systems don't exist yet.
  • Participate in person or online in DHS' "town hall" meeting in Sacramento, CA on Tuesday, May 1 from 10 AM to 2 PM. DHS says the event will be webcast at http://www.realidtownhall.com and that it will take email comments. Sending a letter to DHS is great, but taking the time to participate in this meeting could make an even bigger impression. Check out our REAL ID page and ACLU's realnightmare.org for talking points. You can find more information about the meeting here.
  • If you live in California, send a letter to the Governor. If California refuses to implement REAL ID, that could be a fatal blow to this misguided law. The "town hall" meeting will put the spotlight on this issue here, so it's critical that you make your voice heard now.
  • Tell your Congressional representatives to repeal REAL ID. Ultimately, the correct and necessary policy is a full repeal. Two already-introduced bills, S. 717 and H.R. 1117, would help achieve this goal.

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