The deadline for REAL ID is quickly approaching, and an astonishing number of Americans still have not updated their IDS even though this has literally been decades in the making.
Now Democrats and the media are going after Noem for possible travel delays for Americans, with there only being about two weeks before you can no longer get on a plane without a REAL ID.
The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005 as part of the changes being made after the 9/11 attacks to keep our airports more secure.
The idea behind the upgraded ID was that anyone accessing federal government facilities, nuclear power plants, or boarding airline flights would need the more secure ID.
It was not only about security but also about making it much more challenging for human traffickers to forge documents for illegal immigrants.
The law was initially meant to be activated in 2008, but it has been delayed several times.
As noted above, although the piece of legislation was intended to take effect in 2008, it was delayed due to opposition from the state. By 2012, states started to comply, and within those states, residents were given the option to update their IDs to REAL ID when they applied for a new ID or driver’s license, or were having their ID renewed.
Some states started to comply with the new law as early as 2014, but there was still resistance to the new guidelines. Finally, by 2020, all states were compliant. By 2024, all territories were compliant.
The law was supposed to take effect in 2023, but COVID forced yet another delay of the enforcement date to May 7, 2025. At the time, Secretary Mayorkas stated, “DHS continues to work closely with U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to meet REAL ID requirements.
“This extension will give states needed time to ensure their residents can obtain a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card. DHS will also use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and accessible. We will continue to ensure that the American public can travel safely.”
Now, it has been two decades since the law was signed. It has been at least 10 years for most states having the ID available, so there is literally no excuse for any adult with an ID not to have upgraded their IDs to REAL ID by this point. However, TSA recently reported that roughly 20% of all travelers are still using documents that are not compliant with the law.
So, instead of calling out the people not updating their IDs, the media blindsides Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem for her plans on “major disruptions” to travel schedules if these individuals do not have a REAL ID (DMVs around the country are now overwhelmed with last-minute appointments for the REAL ID).
Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) penned a letter to Noem on the subject, concluding, "Since it seems likely that many travelers will not have a compliant ID by May 7th, please describe how you will ensure that there are not delays at TSA security checkpoints and what steps the TSA is taking to process travelers who arrive at airport security checkpoints without REAL ID compliant identification.”
I am not trying to be non-empathetic to these people, but the option has been there to get this ID for more than a decade (I believe I got my REAL ID 11 years ago). I am not buying into the pushback by some Republicans and the conspiracy theories, as they are utterly ridiculous. We have had plenty of notice, and if people have not updated their ID, especially having travel plans, this falls on the people and the people alone. I was living in Arkansas when REAL ID was approved in the state, and the DMV fully explained why the new ID would be needed and for what purpose, and since I travel quite often, I upgraded to REAL ID. This is not on Bush or Trump or anyone else, other than the people who chose not to get the new form of ID, which was going to be the standard.
