REAL ID enforcement delayed again amid logistical challenges

Deadlines have repeatedly been pushed back due to logistical challenges and political considerations. No politician wants to face backlash from voters unable to travel due to non-compliant IDs during election cycles. Additionally, states lack the capacity to produce enough compliant IDs by the current deadlines.

Despite these delays, TSA has announced plans to exempt mobile driver's licenses from REAL ID requirements when May 2025 arrives. Moreover, passengers often pass through checkpoints without stringent ID checks or even without any ID at all by answering personal questions derived from databases.

Critics argue that watch lists are ineffective and filled with inaccuracies. The FBI has mistakenly placed innocent people on no-fly lists; over two million names appear on terror watch lists. Legal challenges have been limited as inclusion on these lists is only reviewable by circuit courts under specific statutes that favor TSA's judgment.

Furthermore, targeting lists are widely distributed beyond national security purposes and shared with over 1,400 private organizations and other governments. Allegations have surfaced that federal lawyers falsely claimed restricted distribution of these lists.

Airport security practices have faced scrutiny as well; TSA's own filings indicate no known plots against civilian airliners a decade after 9/11. Critics argue that heightened checkpoint security merely shifts risk rather than eliminating it altogether.

Despite the long-standing mandate for REAL ID since its inception over two decades ago following September 11 attacks, implementation delays suggest it may not be perceived as urgently necessary by authorities responsible for national security.