Millions of U.S. residents could have their summer travel plans upended if they have not obtained a new government-issued identification card before they hit the road.
The REAL ID Act was originally passed in 2005, but its implementation was delayed, and it is now slated to finally take effect in early May.
The law was intended to create a new federal standard for identification documents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it could catch many Americans by surprise despite years of federal government warnings to prepare for that date.
“The Real ID requirement bolsters safety by making fraudulent IDs harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists,” said Adam Stahl, TSA Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, in a statement. “TSA will implement REAL ID effectively and efficiently, continuing to ensure the safety and security of passengers while also working to minimize operational disruptions at airports.”
Airport security checkpoints are not the only place that Americans and lawful immigrants could find themselves in a predicament trying to enter.
What is the REAL ID?
The law states that state and territory-issued driver’s licenses and government-issued identification cards must meet new federal standards in order for the carrier to enter federal buildings and nuclear power plants, as well as board commercial aircraft.
It was put forward in Congress following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. The commission called for a streamlined federal standard for identification documents given that there was none and states could choose what documents it deemed as necessary to issue a license or ID.
Andrew Meehan, the former acting secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration, said the ultimate goal of the law was to raise the standard for state-issued IDs.
“The 9/11 Commission rightfully recognized that state issued driver’s licenses and identification cards play an integral role in everyday life,” Meehan wrote in a text message. “REAL ID set common sense standards that ensure the authenticity and integrity of state-issued IDs, making it more difficult for terrorists and other criminals to exploit loopholes in the identification process.”
The new requirements included requiring states and territories to have residents provide certain documents, including a Social Security number, birth certificate, and proof of address.
What is required for a REAL ID?
IDs that are compliant with the law must also have a photograph of the applicant on the ID, store digital images of the documents the applicant provides, and verify documents against federal databases.
For example, a Social Security number provided to a state employee at a Department of Motor Vehicles, where most states issue licenses, has to be checked in real-time against the federal Social Security Administration’s database.
Birth certificates must be verified through the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems’ Electronic Verification of Vital Events.
Immigration status must also be cross-checked against the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.
States and territories issuing the new IDs must ensure that previous ID cards have been terminated by the same or different state, limit the new document to a maximum eight-year validity period, run background checks on employees, and include a symbol on the top right corner of the ID that is provided to approved applicants.
Why is it only taking effect now?
The REAL ID Act of 2005 was originally passed during former President George W. Bush’s second term, and it gave states three years to comply.
The law was supposed to be enforced by 2008, but the Department of Homeland Security pushed that initial implementation date back countless times, including due to pushback from states early on and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank in Washington, opposes the REAL ID Act on the basis that goes beyond the federal government’s authority.
“Nothing in the U.S. Constitution authorizes the federal government to control identification documents for domestic travel. It is an affront to liberty and our Founders’ design to allow the federal government to usurp this power,” Bier wrote in an email, adding that no U.S. plane had been hijacked since 9/11 while there has not been a ID standard in place.
“Blocking or unduly burdening US citizens’ right to travel is unconstitutional,” Bier said. “Meanwhile, a nationalized ID system would enable nationwide surveillance and control of US citizens in a way heretofore impossible, which threatens the rights of everyone.”
The DHS has stated that it is not attempting to build a national database with residents’ personal information.
“REAL ID is a national set of standards, not a national identification card. REAL ID does not create a federal database of driver license information. Each jurisdiction continues to issue its own unique license, maintains its own records, and controls who gets access to those records and under what circumstances,” the DHS said in a statement. “The purpose of REAL ID is to make our identity documents more consistent and secure.”
Is the public ready?
The federal agency responsible for screening airline passengers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will no longer accept older IDs at airport security checkpoints come May 7. The new IDs that states have begun to issue in recent years have
The TSA has played a leading role over the past year notifying the public that their identification cards must be replaced in order to be compliant when the law takes effect, but because the effective date has been pushed back year after year so many times, it is likely to catch many by surprise, and just as the summer travel season kicks off, potentially setting up challenges at airport checkpoints.
TSA has maintained that it will efficiently process the high number of airline passengers during the summer months even as the implementation kicks in, but that could be a challenge.
Approximately 81% of travelers passing through TSA checkpoints have a REAL ID-approved ID, but 19% do not, according to the agency That means, of the 1.9 million to 2.8 million of airline passengers passing through security checkpoints daily, roughly 380,000 to 560,000 people are still not prepared to board a plane come next month.
Passengers who show up at airports without a REAL ID-compliant ID can expect to face significant delays, additional screening, and the possibility of not being allowed into the security checkpoint.
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Anyone under the age of 18 with an adult companion is not required to comply with the new standard. REAL ID-compliant IDs cannot be used as passports or to cross into Mexico or Canada or board international sea cruises.
The only other exception at airports will be illegal immigrants who are boarding flights while self-deporting from the U.S., according to the TSA.
