I guess I'm in the column of those that thinks this is no big deal. Regarding your State DL, it requires you to prove where you live, your phys addy, and with your Birth Certificate, prove you are a US citizen. From a practical POV it seems if you do not have the gold star on your DL, it opens the door for a police officer to ask you if you are here in US legally (if you're a citizen), the one exception being if you're here legally and have a green card. That's a area I am not familiar with simply because I'm not gonna waste my time searching out the particulars. From what I understand any DL renewal after 2020 will be mandatory Real ID complaint. Basically I'd guess if you do not have the gold star, you're saying you're not here legally, as far as the DL goes. If ya get pulled over now, as everyone knows you've gotta show proof through your DL that you can operate a MV on the roads....so it's no big deal (to me). If you think about it, this might stop one hell of a lot of voter fraud, preventing illegals from voting. Kind of a back door "Motor / Voter" law thing...Not really a bad thing.