[yehi]

I'm not from the US but don't IDs require proof of citizenship? I mean, if an illegal immigrant were to try to get a driver license wouldn't they have to prove that they were legally in the US? Or can anyone from any country take a driving test and get a legal American drivers license?

If the later, then I can understand why people are against requiring such an arbitrary form of identification.

[cafard]

One can be a legal resident of the US, have a driver's license, and be unable to vote. I know a number of foreign nationals with licenses.

A bored immigration guy in Detroit once amused himself by pointing out that neither my driver's license nor my draft card showed that I was in fact a citizen of the US, or I guess a legal resident. When I said that this was the only ID I was carrying, and shrugged, he waved me through.

[dagw]

if an illegal immigrant were to try to get a driver license wouldn't they have to prove that they were legally in the US?

Varies from State to State as far as know. At least in some states it's enough to prove that you live in the state, not that you are living there legally.

[maxerickson]

There's been activity to standardize checks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act

I definitely had to show the 4 types of documents the last couple of times I've moved (photo/birth/status/address). Stupidly, the first id that was obtained by showing that stuff didn't serve as proof of the first 3 when I moved again.