A new Bush administration plan to create national standards for driver’s licenses has drawn heavy criticism from civil liberties groups, lawmakers of both political parties, governors and the travel industry, The Washington Post reports.  The new program, known as Real ID, which aims to screen out potential terrorists and uncovering undocumented immigrants, has faced criticism that it would be too costly to implement, could still be easy to forge, and would allow private companies to access personal data of most U.S. citizens.   

Although the Real ID Act will take effect this May, the Bush administration made the official announcement last week that states will have until May 2011 before they begin issuing licenses that meet the department’s new guidelines.  "DHS has kicked the can down the road to the next administration, and conceivably the next two or three administrations," said Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer with the ACLU.  Already, 17 states have said they would either refuse to issue the new licenses or have asked Congress to repeal a 2005 law that required states to collect and store additional data on driver’s license applicants, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and home addresses.  

At a news conference shortly after the timetable announcement, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned Georgia and Washington, two states who have refused to comply with the program, may be subjected to additional security checks or prevented from boarding flights once the program begins in May.  The ACLU called Chertoff’s warning an empty threat designed to pressure states to join the program.  "The airline industry is not going to allow the federal government to prevent citizens of noncompliant states from getting on airplanes," said ACLU senior legislative counsel Timothy Sparapani.  "1.8 million people fly everyday and a sizable number leave from airports like Atlanta ’s Hartsfield Airport , which is one of the busiest in the country."  

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The Bush administration has given approval for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to rehire retired workers in an effort to reduce a backlog of immigration applications that is preventing thousands of people from becoming U.S. citizens in time to vote in November’s elections, according to the Star Tribune.  

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., was the first to pressure USCIS to seek permission to rehire the retirees this past summer, after The Associated Press reported that a summer spike in immigration applications—a record 7.7 million in 2007—caused the backlog.  "This is a welcome breakthrough that has great potential to help sort through the backlog of pending applications," Schumer said this week in a statement.  "Immigrants who play by the rules and get in line deserve a chance at citizenship, not an endless waiting game.  Failed planning led to this backlog, but this is a smart step that could help fix the situation.  

UCSIS is deciding how to begin hiring the retirees, spokesman Chris Bentley said.  USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez told Schumer last month the agency has identified 704 retirees, 469 of whom are in ‘adjudication-related positions.’  Gonzalez also said the agency has a plan for dealing with the application increase to be publicly shared soon.