Sign the petition: Repeal the Real ID Act
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has once again pushed back full enforcement of the Real ID Act, from 2023 to 2025.
Originally passed in the wake of 9/11, the 2005 Real ID Act created minimum standards for state-issued identification cards, requiring travelers flying within the U.S. to carry an enhanced or TSA-approved ID (like a passport). It was originally intended to take effect in 2008, but enforcement has been plagued by delays.
Groups from across the political spectrum oppose it for a number of reasons: It is an unfunded mandate that depletes state coffers, it lacks sufficient protections for privacy and civil liberties, it increases racial discrimination, it creates an expansive and cumbersome new bureaucracy, it facilitates government surveillance of citizens, and more. The law is so problematic, some states have outright rejected it, while others continuously ask for extensions and still struggle to meet its requirements 17 years after its passage.
We all want to feel safe while flying. But if we can go this long without Real ID, then it's clearly not necessary. Implementing it would create unreasonable costs and barriers, invite civil rights violations, and could possibly halt air travel altogether. It's time to repeal Real ID entirely.
Sign the petition: Repeal the Real ID Act.
Originally passed in the wake of 9/11, the 2005 Real ID Act created minimum standards for state-issued identification cards, requiring travelers flying within the U.S. to carry an enhanced or TSA-approved ID (like a passport). It was originally intended to take effect in 2008, but enforcement has been plagued by delays.
Groups from across the political spectrum oppose it for a number of reasons: It is an unfunded mandate that depletes state coffers, it lacks sufficient protections for privacy and civil liberties, it increases racial discrimination, it creates an expansive and cumbersome new bureaucracy, it facilitates government surveillance of citizens, and more. The law is so problematic, some states have outright rejected it, while others continuously ask for extensions and still struggle to meet its requirements 17 years after its passage.
We all want to feel safe while flying. But if we can go this long without Real ID, then it's clearly not necessary. Implementing it would create unreasonable costs and barriers, invite civil rights violations, and could possibly halt air travel altogether. It's time to repeal Real ID entirely.
Sign the petition: Repeal the Real ID Act.
