- Coalition for a Secure Driver's License
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Coalition for a Secure Driver's License 
Abbreviation CSDL Motto Working to Protect The Identity of Every American Formation November, 2001 Type 501(c)(3) Location Washington, D.C. Website www.secure-license.org The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License (CSDL) is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan not for profit crime prevention education charity incorporated in Washington, D.C. CSDL’s stated mission is to “raise public awareness that weak state systems for issuing drivers’ licenses and IDs increase the risk from foreign terrorists and domestic criminals who can fraudulently assume new identities to escape detection by law enforcement."[1]
Contents
Goals
The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License:
…conducts essential research identifying best practices for Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs), fraud detection and prosecution and related identity management topics.
…supports rigorous standards for identity authentication by DMVs to prevent identity fraud and higher standards for physical card security to prevent counterfeiting, tampering and alteration.
…supports voluntary state compliance with federal standards for drivers’ licenses and state issued ID cards and supports rigorous enforcement of identity theft laws and prosecution of those engaging in identity document forgery and counterfeiting.
…actively educates the public that secure interstate processes for identity authentication, combined with increased internal controls and privacy protections for data storage will:
•Help prevent identity theft
•Keep habitual drunk drivers from getting licenses through fraud
•Prevent dead beat parents from hiding under an assumed name
•Prevent welfare and Medicare theft by denying crooks multiple licenses in multiple states
•Expose sexual predators and other criminals attempting to acquire false identities through the use of fraudulent source documents
•Help enforce border security measures and federal immigration law
•Reduce underage purchase of alcohol and tobacco
•Reduce financial/credit card fraud
•Reduce Voter Fraud
•Help to stop Methamphetamine precursor sales for illegal purposes
•Keep children safe from identity fraud
Founding
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, it was revealed that 18 of the 19 terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks held over thirty valid drivers’ licenses and ID cards issued by five states. The terrorists had obtained so many state IDs to escape detection by airport security systems that use passport data to check foreign visitors against federal watch lists. CSDL was established in November, 2001, by concerned New Yorkers and 9/11 family members who were concerned because of the apparent indifference by state and federal officials to this security vulnerability.[2]
Controversies
Billboards
In December 2005, the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License launched a billboard campaign in North Carolina urging the increase of driver’s license issuance standards. The campaign came about after Congress passed the REAL ID act, which called for states to adopt a uniform standard for authenticating the source documents that applicants use to obtain driver’s licenses and ID cards.
The billboard’s slogan, “Don’t License Terrorists” accompanied an image of a terrorist wearing a traditional Arab headdress while holding a driver’s license and grenade. The billboard drew national media attention and strong reaction from some groups that believed it was inflaming anti-Arab sentiment.
“The message of the ad says that Arabs are dangerous and violent people and that therefore they should not get driver’s licenses and I think it’s bigoted. It’s racist,” said Christine Saah Nazer of the Washington D.C.-based Arab American Institute.[3]
Other groups challenged CSDL’s assertion that North Carolina needed to require driver’s license applicants to show a valid Social Security card and proof that they were residing in the country legally.
In 2005, according to Ernie Seneca, spokesman for North Carolina’s Department of Transportation, "North Carolina has a strong driver's license program and we have taken significant steps to address security and the identification of license holders."[3]
“Although illegal immigrants qualify for licenses in North Carolina, they have to show at least two valid forms of identification to prove they are who they say they are,” Seneca said.[3]
“Melanie Chernoff, deputy director of El Pueblo, an Hispanic advocacy group in Raleigh, said the billboard is unnecessary because license requirements in North Carolina already are strict.”[3]
Then CSDL President Amanda Bowman defended the billboard. "I think it's an important message to get out to North Carolinians that they have a driver's license that is vulnerable to getting into the wrong hands."[4]
CSDL also erected a highway billboard in New Mexico urging the state to raise their license security. The billboard, 30 miles east of Albuquerque, featured a mock photograph of one of Mohammed Atta’s eight driver’s licenses with text reading “Some States Made it Easy, Don’t License Terrorists, New Mexico.”[5]
New York Driver's License Controversy
2007: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Driver’s License Controversy
On September 21, 2007, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Commissioner David Swarts announced an administrative policy change that allowed all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, to apply for a driver’s license or ID card.[6] The policy change was touted as an anti-fraud measure to increase the security of the driver licensing system and to allow more people’s records into the system.
The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License drew national media attention by opposing Governor Spitzer’s plan citing that the policy change made New Yorkers vulnerable to terrorists and criminals obtaining valid drivers’ licenses using fraudulent source documents.CSDL argued that granting licenses to anyone regardless of immigration status would increase the:
…risk of harm from foreign terrorists – who will obtain New York driver’s licenses to hide their real identities while they pursue plans of mass destruction to New York City landmarks.
…risk of harm from those who have lost their licenses as a result of Driving under the Influence (DUI) and can now regain their driving privileges under assumed names, by claiming to be “undocumented.”
…risk of harm from criminals “on the run from other states and countries who move to New York to hide from law enforcement under assumed names obtained from stolen passports, fraudulent foreign birth certificates or other “purchased” valid documents that they use to mask their true identity.
…potential for LEGAL immigrants, who are wanted by U.S. law enforcement, to escape justice by pretending to be illegal aliens without documentation under an assumed name.[7]
CSDL’s successful educational campaign in New York was one of the causes that led Governor Spitzer to rescind his executive order allowing illegal aliens to obtain a validly issued New York drivers' licenses.
Funding
The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License is classified as a 501(c) (3) organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. CSDL is primarily funded through donations from individuals, but also accepts grants from foundations.
See also
- Department of Homeland Security
- Eliot Spitzer drivers license controversy
References
- ^ http://www.secure-license.org/cms/index.php/plain/about_us
- ^ http://www.secure-license.org/cms/index.php/plain/about_us
- ^ a b c d http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/375972.html[dead link]
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-13-billboard-outrage_x.htm
- ^ http://www.secure-license.org/cms/index.php/plain/media__1/security_improvements_by_state_dmvs/powerful_billboard_depicting_mohammed_atta_urges_new_mexico_to_change_terrorist_friendly_licensing_rules
- ^ http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/0921071.html
- ^ http://www.secure-license.org/cms/index.php/plain/media__1/security_improvements_by_state_dmvs/new_york_state_update
- secure-license.org official website
- "Anti-Terror Legislation Expected to Lengthen DMV Lines", The Washington Post
External links
- Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License
- Department of Homeland Security: REAL ID Act
Categories:- Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
- Organizations established in 2001
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