But what if the states weren’t asked for input? Or at least, not on the question of federal-inmate IDs. Presumably, the Federal Bureau of Prisons verified the identity of every prisoner in its care prior to trying, sentencing, and incarcerating them. It even has a software application to create inmate ID cards. These cards are used during custody to identify inmates to staff, as well as to facilitate prison purchases and services. Upon being released to halfway houses, group homes, or residential reentry centers, inmates keep the cards to use as picture IDs. To prepare for someone’s release, BOP staff often also work with inmates to obtain a birth certificate so they can get a state-issued ID instead, where that’s an option. Which makes sense: The stigma associated with having a criminal record makes it difficult to imagine that providing prison-issued IDs would have broad appeal—especially among former inmates.

“Who will accept that in the community? Employers and other agencies do not recognize those IDs as legitimate,” said Samuels. He explained that DMV rules in New York state allow the state-prison ID to actually help people get a driver’s license or state-issued nondriver ID, an ID that does not include driving privileges but which is on par with a license in terms of validity. Samuels, however, warned that for many returning citizens, the financial cost can be an additional barrier. “That’s why we suggest a waiver for people who are indigent. When people come out of jail they have very little money to get on their feet, so it’s important for the fees to be waved to help them get started,” he said.

Some states are already way ahead of the federal government in this regard. Arizona, California, Illinois, Montana, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin allow released state inmates to exchange their corrections-department documentation for a state-issued ID or for prison documents to meet primary identification requirements for other state-issued forms of ID, according to Lynch’s letter. And a handful of other states—Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, and Wyoming—already have systems in place for providing a valid state-issued ID upon release. This got me thinking: If the states are sending released prisoners off with state IDs, could the Federal Bureau of Prisons send them off with federal IDs? Why doesn’t the federal government just issue passports to former inmates? It is one of the most powerful and widely recognized forms of identification on the planet.

I called the Department of State, which issues passports, to ask. After some mention of the difficulty in obtaining birth certificates, which are required for U.S.-born Americans (as opposed to naturalized ones or permanent residents) to be issued passports, they referred me back to DOJ and BOP. “Yes, this concept was considered during the early planning stages of this project,” Long said. “It was determined that current requirements to obtain a passport would inhibit wide-scale application for BOP’s population.” I took that to mean that birth certificates would complicate this, since most inmates don’t have easy access to them. In a colossal twist, however, most local governments ask for state-issued IDs to process a birth-certificate reissue request.