Governor Eliot Spitzer wants New York to implement what he is calling the most secure drivers license ever invented. The initiative would allow New York to document the approximately 1 million illegal immigrants now living in the state and comply with the federal governments controversial identification mandates. However, if politics does not derail the proposal, technology might. The plan is meeting strong opposition from groups worried in part that the suggested use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and other technology could endanger the privacy rights of citizens while still failing to deliver the security level promised by Governor Spitzer. Spitzer worked with his old friend from his law school days, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, to create the license system that would comply with federal mandates and address concerns about the numbers of immigrants in New York. Spitzers plan calls for three separate licenses for New York residents, based almost exclusively on their degree of travel outside the state: one state license for all citizens--immigrants or not; one that would comply with the Real ID Act; and one that would comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Spitzers plan is complicated because immigrants are eligible for the basic state license but not for the other two, and immigrants would need to have the Real ID to travel on a domestic commercial airline. Many opponents fear that the Real ID will become a national identification card. The fight against Real ID includes 38 states, 17 of which have opted out via legislative action. Under Spitzers plan, New Yorkers seeking an enhanced license would be subjected to the scrutiny of an Enhanced Identification Verification Unit, a very effective method of confirming a persons true identity.