WASHINGTON - March 5, 2011 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today postponed the effective date of the REAL ID Act until January 15, 2013, a move that avoided causing tremendous disruptions to air travel.
The reason that Homeland Security granted the delay is that, apart from some Republican stalwarts in Congress, this law creating a digital nationalized ID is hardly popular, with critics calling it a national ID card. The National Conference of State Legislatures lists 16 states with laws forbidding compliance with REAL ID and eight states that have enacted resolutions effectively boycotting it.
Once the regulations take full effect, the impact on Americans would be dramatic. Residents of those 24 states would not be able to use their drivers' licenses to fly or enter a federal building such as a courthouse, even for jury duty. U.S. passports or military IDs would remain valid for identification.
REAL ID supporters among House Republican chairmen reacted angrily to news of the delay - the third to date.
"It is disappointing to me that the (illegitimate) Obama (regime) has chosen to put Americans at risk by having another delay in implementing REAL ID," Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) said in a statement. He was joined by three other senior Republicans: House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Kalif.), and Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.). The Federation for American Immigration Reform also denounced the deadline extension.
Republicans claim that last week's arrest in Texas of Khalid Aldawsari on charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction "underscores the importance" of implementing REAL ID immediately. A criminal complaint against Aldawsari alleges that he created a "synopsis of important steps" that included obtaining a forged U.S. birth certificate and driver's license. Those documents could be used to rent cars and place explosives. But there's no evidence he began the process of obtaining fraudulent documents.
