Feds to Unveil New ID System

Calls scheme 'kooky' and 'hare-brained'

(NEWSER) - NPR Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and every single state legislator have refused to implement the Real ID Act, a congressional mandate to create standardized identification documents. Schweitzer tells NPR the law is "kooky" and "hare-brained," asserting that half a dozen high school students and a Kinko's are all that would be needed to subvert it. More»

Homeland Security pushes back deadline for revamped licenses

(NEWSER) - A new federal ID law has 17 states in an uproar over the cost of new driver's licenses and a rushed timetable, the AP reports. Michael Chertoff laid out final details of the REAL ID program today, including an extended timetable with one short deadline: Residents of states that don't request an extension for complying by May will not be able to use a driver's license to get through airport security. More»

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to the completion of the border fence between the US and Mexico, Fox News reports. Environmental groups, an Indian tribe, and the city of El Paso brought the challenge, contending that a fence will cut off access to the Rio Grande for religious, cultural, and municipal purposes. The Obama administration had encouraged the court to reject the case. More»

Fined owner says he's a 'scapegoat,' blasts Homeland Security system

(NEWSER) - A cleaning service whose illegal workers got past Secret Service checks to scrub Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s home is facing fines for hiring undocumented laborers, the Washington Post reports. The owner calls the enforcement uneven, saying his small business may go under while customers and large companies enjoy cheap labor unscathed. Authorities say he wasn’t targeted, and investigations are based on tips. More»

Rumored Homeland Security nominee has hawk cred on border

(NEWSER) - If Janet Napolitano is indeed Barack Obama’s pick for Homeland Security chief, it likely signals a shift in the department away from terrorism and toward immigration issues, CQPolitics reports. The Arizona governor has been on the front lines of the immigration battle. “She would do a pretty serious systematic review of the border strategy,” a Clinton administration immigration official said. More»