A Debacle Two Decades in the Making

Real ID makes its long-delayed debut.....sort of

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Congress was predictably looking to be seen DOING SOMETHING to ensure the safety of Americans, specifically those flying domestically. The USA PATRIOT Act was the most consequential of these post-9/11 bills, but also passed during that era was the REAL ID Act of 2005. The purpose of this bill was to verify the identity of Americans before issuing a driver’s license or ID card — because apparently that wasn’t really part of the process before. That way, the government would know you were who you said you were when you boarded a plane. Without a REAL ID, you wouldn’t be able to fly, the government threatened.

Initially, the program was supposed to roll out in 2008. Many states pushed back on the idea — some due to privacy concerns about a federal database of citizens, some due to concerns about making those ineligible for a REAL ID second-class citizens. Additionally, the Obama administration was against the concept, so the REGULATIONS for the REAL ID weren’t even released until 2008. Afterward, states could request extensions to the deadline, and in 2014 the DHS finally punted enforcement until 2020.

Then governments around the country shut down for covid, and the deadline was predictably extended again — first to 2023, and then until May 7, 2025. Today.

It’s taken TWENTY YEARS to actually implement REAL ID. Nobody since 2005 has really been interested in actually implementing this system, yet it’s limped along through the bureaucracy through sheer momentum. (Sort of like how the USA PATRIOT Act keeps getting renewed without discussion.) Nobody’s asking if this still solves an actual problem, or really ever did. I can’t believe for a second that 9/11-level terrorists (who had government-issued ID, as did the shoe bomber and underwear bomber!) couldn’t get a REAL ID or passport — meaning it never really solved the problem to begin with.

A 2012 GAO report agrees:

Furthermore, officials in many states said they have difficulties detecting forged birth certificates. Verifying date of birth is also required by the Act, and a system exists for doing so, but no licensing agencies are using it because of concerns about incomplete data, among other reasons. Partly because these two systems are not fully operational, GAO investigators were able to use counterfeit out-of-state drivers' licenses and birth certificates to fraudulently obtain licenses in three states.

I think we can all agree that if our national security relies on the diligence of DMV workers, we’re already fucked. But REAL ID is a project in the system, and that means devoting manpower and monetary resources to the project. (Original estimates were in the $23 billion range!!)

And finally 20 years later, the project is complete and we’re ready to enforce compliance! Based on current REAL ID uptake, I expected airports across the country to be a backed-up shitshow. My plan was to upload and share these clips so we could all have a good laugh.

But the chaos never actually ensued. Why not? Because “enforcement” consists of a Jim Jordan-like sternly worded notice that NEXT TIME you need a REAL ID to fly. Which is basically what they’ve been saying for years already.

At some level, this is entirely predictable. The federal government has been warning of upcoming REAL ID enforcement for decades — it’s easy to see why many people didn’t bother to jump through the extra hoops to obtain one. Another section of the populace is opposed to the system on moral grounds, and they’re unlikely to EVER buy into it. Strict enforcement of the system would prevent illegals from flying — and we can imagine what kind of fuss that would raise in DC.

(Writers at “The Atlantic” believe preventing illegals from flying is the point — obviously because Trump is a big meaniehead.)

But maybe this weak “enforcement” of a terrible policy nobody REALLY wanted is all we’ll get. With any luck, when the “REAL” REAL ID deadline rolls around in 2027, they’ll just declare victory and scrap the whole mess. Everybody involved can pat themselves on the back for a job well done, and “experts” can go on solving the next problem on the list from 2005.

I hear the neocons are trying to drag us into a war with Iran.

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