Examining Michigan's New Enhanced Driver's License

Everybody knows that in order to pass from one country to another legally you need a valid passport - unless of course you are travelling from Michigan into Canada, or vice versa. Believe it or not, most Michigan residents are allowed to pass into the country of Canada without a passport, and most often times, Canadian residents can cross into the United States via the state of Michigan. However, starting on June 1, 2009, this is going to change.

However, this doesn't entirely mean that Michigan residents will need a passport to cross into their neighbors to the North. Instead, the state of Michigan is now offering an EDL, or Enhanced Driver's License, which is aimed at making international travel between the U.S. and Canada, as well as Mexico and Puerto Rico a breeze. But there is of course a catch; this Enhanced Driver's License contains a tiny microchip, which in essence, could be used to track your every move.

The new Enhanced Driver's License works like this. You approach the border in your car, and before you even reach the gate to talk to a customs agent the microchip in your driver's license is read. This allows the customs agents to see your photo, which is also run through a database of known terrorists. According to the government this will speed up border crossing times for those who are traveling legit and cut down dramatically on those who are crossing the border with terrorist activities on their mind.

But of course, just as expected, our good friends at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are already right on top of this subject. According to them, the radio frequencies of these microchips can be tapped into and read by outsiders, or hackers. And although the government says that the only kind of information contained on these microchips is a personal identification number, we (the unsuspecting public) really have no idea what kind of personal, sensitive data might be at risk through the clever use of a stolen id number like this.

In an attempt to make their new Enhanced Driver's License more appealing to consumers, the cost for an EDL in the state of Michigan is only $60, compared to $97 for a passport. In addition, EDL's are typically processed more quickly than passports, and may be one of your only options when making international travel plans at the last minute.

Sources:

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/michigan/New_driver_licenses_smooth_intl_travel

http://www.dmv.org/news-alerts/enhanced-driver-license.php#tz_MI

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1196872524298.shtm