Real ID requirement for air travel delayed, again

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

Americans will have two more years to obtain a Real ID driver’s license or identification card, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.

U.S. air travelers will be required to present the Real ID credential to board a domestic flight beginning May 7, 2025. Before Monday’s announcement, implementation had been scheduled to take effect in May next year.

Postponing enforcement of the last phase of the Real ID Act will give motor vehicle departments across the country more time to process the new credentials, but will come 17 years after the changes initially were to be in place. States have reported that progress on the Real ID program was hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The law, which set minimum security standards for driver’s licenses and ID cards issued by states after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, originally was to take effect in 2008. About half of Americans with a license or state identification card have a Real ID-compliant document, generally identifiable by a star in the upper-right corner.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/12/05/real-id-delay-air-travel/

[Blues Heron]

1. when do we get to stop taking our shoes off?

probably never since they have monetized that little privilege.

[brooklynite]

2. $85 for five years isn't profit making.

[Blues Heron]

4. That doesnt seem so bad, somehow I thought it was a yearly thing

[brooklynite]

5. CLEAR (a private company) charges annually

DHS charges $85 for five years of PreCheck, $100 for five years of Global Entry with PreCheck included.

[Blues Heron]

6. Thanks, might have to look into this for future travel.

[genxlib]

9. Totally worth it if you travel much at all

At the equivalent of $17 a year, it is a no-brainer for me.

[3catwoman3]

13. I have the TSA pre-screen but have still had to take off my shoes...

...a couple of times. Twice, I had on little ankle boots that had a zipper on the inner side of the boot. Same material and same size as the zipper in my jeans. The wand alerts on the boot zipper, but not on the zipper in my jeans.

I have no idea why. I no longer wear these boots when flying, which is too bad because they are both cute and comfortable.

[llmart]

3. When you're 75.

Something to look forward to in your senior years.

[Dorn]

7. If I buy a seat on a plane, train, bus, or boat -- why should the govenment know ?

I remember watching movies where the Nazis were always saying "Show me your papers", how is this different ?

[brooklynite]

8. If your plane is hijacked, do you want the Government to try and rescue you?

[NullTuples]

18. Is it no longer feasible to just request a passenger manifest from the carrier?

Or am I misunderstanding your question...?

[Alexander Of Assyria]

11. I agree. Government issued id with a star?who put he fascists in charge of transport and can we stop

Essentially a domestic passport….not good!

[aggiesal]

10. I'm surprised that nobody has responded to this yet ...

Last year, I refused to get a RealID Drivers License here in California,

I have a Passport & a Passport Card, which I use when leaving or entering the country, both have RealID,
but I don't believe we should be tracked within the U.S. borders.

I remember back in the 60's & 70's during the height of the Cold War, reading about how Soviet citizens had to report everywhere they went when they traveled. We U.S. citizens at the time thought that was anti-thesis to a free society, the freedom to travel anywhere within our country, without government following us.

Now we have RealID. What do you think this is all about?
It's about having to report everywhere we go within the US.
So now we are no better than the Soviet and now Russian society.

I know all the arguments why we should have RealID, but I always fall back on Benjamin Franklin's quote:
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

[brooklynite]

16. How about burning your drivers license and moving off the grid in Idaho?

Nobody requires you to fly on commercial aviation. And a REAL ID drivers license tells nothing about you other than you've proved US citizenship/residency status and the license hasn't been forged. Just like a Passport.

[aggiesal]

28. Drivers licenses do not require U.S. citizenship ...

Last edited Mon Dec 5, 2022, 10:01 PM - Edit history (1)

and passports are as close to verifying citizenship, but not necessarily a requirement.
State Department can issue Passports to non-citizens, but it has to be for some specific reason.

Also, why would I have to burn my license? It's not an RealID license for 6 years.

A RealID does more than verify US Citizenship, it keeps track of where you are & tracks your travel planning.
This first started right after 9/11, and when this was shot down.
Then the (R)'s sneaked it into the tsunami relief bill in 2005, right after GW McIdiot was re-elected, because it was so unpopular.

I really don't know why people are just accepting this without question.
By accepting RealID as a society, we've sold out our freedom.

[NullTuples]

19. As if credit card transactions, plane manifests & non-Real ID's can't be used for that purpose too?

[aggiesal]

31. That's not government tracking us, that's private industry that is tracking us ...

I don't like that either.

I can easily take some money out of a bank, less than $3000 so I'm not reported
and drive around the US, never using a credit card.

[NullTuples]

32. Do you really think they are so separate all the time?

On paper, sure. But in reality large corporations (their investor-owners, really) could be said to own many members of our government. And our government has been so privatized over the years that without corporations it would be incapable of doing most if not many of its primary functions. It's not like airlines - who let's not forget keep getting gifted with truly staggering amounts of taxpayer funded monies - are going to ever say no to a government request for a passenger manifest. In a very practical sense, like a defense contractor they are nearly a part of the government as they would fail without it.

[Mr.Bill]

12. Your phone pretty much reports

Last edited Mon Dec 5, 2022, 03:49 PM - Edit history (1)

everywhere you go. Of course, you can always leave your phone at home when you choose.

Edit: Meant to respond to post #10.

[aggiesal]

14. Or you can also turn it off. ...

Newer phones don't allow you access to the battery housing any longer.
I wonder why that is? (Things That Make You ho Hmmm!)

[NullTuples]

20. Honestly, it's planned obsolescence. Batteries only last a few years.

With an easy to swap battery, a phone can be used for a decade barring drastic changes like generational changes in radios (ie 2G, 3G, etc).

[aggiesal]

29. Or is it that not everything gets turned off ...

and the GPS is still on or the signal is still being transmitted to a cell tower.

I have no proof of this, but there are times when I turned off my iPhone when it was charging,
only to find it turned on when I returned. And I know the difference between SHUTDOWN and RESTART.

[NullTuples]

34. On Android based phones that's something (some) people can verify.

Which is why I don't trust Apple enough to use it's products. The company's humans seem to mean well, but they also want to treat their customer base like children and remove choices to simplify the user experience. This can be a huge plus, but to me it has negative effects as well.

But even with Apple phones some digging in and finding out what the phone is doing is possible. And because there aren't hundreds of different models, trusted experts can also verify that say, GPS is not in use when it's not supposed to be.

And to be sure, Android phones can have spyware in the firmware itself. But we know this because it is accessible.

Welcome to the so-called "free market", which for most of us is really more like an open air market in a country where we don't speak the language.

[iluvtennis]

15. BTW, you can use a US Passport in lieu of Real ID. I've been doing this for 4/5 years now.

Forms of ID accepted by TSA for domestic air travel


Am sure most of you DUers know this, just wanted to restate it. Peace.

[NullTuples]

22. That is very helpful, thanks!

Especially if someone lives in many red states.


"Getting a Real ID-compliant driver’s license isn’t a huge hassle for most people, but if you’ve had your legal name and/or gender markers changed, things get difficult quickly."

https://rvamag.com/gay-rva/real-id-is-coming-soon-for-the-trans-community-its-a-complicated-situation.html

[iluvtennis]

25. Regarding name and gender maker changes for red states - Wow :-( n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

27. This past April, the State Department started implementation of a "X" option for gender on passports

X Gender Marker Available on U.S. Passports Starting April 11


Press Statement

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

March 31, 2022

The Department of State has reached another milestone in our work to better serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity.  In June, I announced that U.S. passport applicants could self-select their gender and were no longer required to submit any medical documentation, even if their selected gender differed from their other citizenship or identity documents. Starting on April 11, U.S. citizens will be able to select an X as their gender marker on their U.S. passport application, and the option will become available for other forms of documentation next year.

The Department is setting a precedent as the first federal government agency to offer the X gender marker on an identity document. When we announced in June that we had begun this work, we referred to the addition of a third gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals. Since then, we have solicited public feedback through the notice and comment process we undertook to update our passport application forms. We have also continued to consult with partner countries who have already taken this important step to recognize gender diversity on their passports. Finally, we have worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics to conduct qualitative research on how to define an X gender marker, interviewing a demographically diverse group of individuals, including many members of the LGBTQI+ community. After thoughtful consideration of the research conducted and feedback from community members, we concluded that the definition of the X gender marker on State Department public forms will be “Unspecified or another gender identity.” This definition is respectful of individuals’ privacy while advancing inclusion.

(snip)

https://www.state.gov/x-gender-marker-available-on-u-s-passports-starting-april-11/

So getting something like a passport card for those in red states, for use as a (portable) RealID would be a good option.

[iluvtennis]

30. Cool - thanks. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

23. What might be a better alternative

is if you get a Passport "card" when you renew the passport and then that is easier to carry around than a passport and it is good for domestic and "border country" travel (including the Caribbean). I got one when I re-upped my passport and it is driver's license size. I had gotten it before PA finally started offering a RealID driver's license (and I eventually got one of those too).

Passport Card

[iluvtennis]

24. Good info - thanks. I'll request this as well as passport book when I renew in 2 years. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

26. The price was reasonable

as an add-on (just checked and it's still just $30 (PDF) when done as a passport renewal and $35 when done with a new passport application).

[Dysfunctional]

17. One reason I don't have a Real Id is I don't want to bother going into the DMV.

I get a new license every 4 years online. Of course, the other reason is I have a DoD ID. Oh yeah, another reason is, I don't fly.

[BigmanPigman]

21. My DMV is 2 blocks away and the line almost

goes around the building on average days. There was no way I would go into that building with Covid in the mix. I have a passport and passport card a d they suffice.

[JohnSJ]

33. If you have a passport you don't need a Real ID. Even though I have a passport, I ended up getting

a Real ID yesterday. For me the process wasn't too bad, but I can see a lot of people not finding the process particularly easy, especially when it comes to gathering the information to identify oneself.

It is pretty intrusive, and one would hope that the documents that you provide, and the copies made by the DMV would be made secure from hackers in their database.

Anyone who believes this will prevent nefarious characters from duplicating Real IDs is naive

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

35. Oh good. dont have my real ID yet. was planning to travel using passport

[sarcasmo]

36. What a mess.