US homeland security chief says travelers without REAL ID will be allowed to fly

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said aerial travelers starting Wednesday who bash not person enhanced ID cards whitethorn look enhanced information procedures but volition not beryllium denied entree to flights.

Starting Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration volition nary longer judge state-issued identifications that are not REAL ID compliant.

"If it's not compliant, they whitethorn beryllium diverted to a antithetic line, person an other step, but radical volition beryllium allowed to fly,"Noem said astatine a U.S. House proceeding connected Tuesday. "This is simply a information issue."

Noem said earlier this week that 19 states contented operator licenses to immigrants who are not successful the United States legally and enforcing the REAL ID volition contradict those individuals the quality to question by air.

In April, TSA had warned that aerial passengers could beryllium denied entree to flights without the enhanced IDs.

Congress successful 2005 approved new, stricter national standards for issuing recognition cards but enforcement has been pushed backmost repeatedly.

TSA said successful aboriginal April passengers 18 oregon older without passports oregon the enhanced ID "can expect to look delays, further screening and the anticipation of not being permitted into the information checkpoint."

TSA said past period 81% of travelers astatine checkpoints are presently presenting an acceptable identification. People besides request those IDs to sojourn a national gathering starting Wednesday.

TSA successful December 2022 pushed backmost the REAL ID enforcement deadline until May 2025.

The 2005 instrumentality enacted the September 11, 2001, commission's proposal that the U.S. authorities "set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, specified arsenic driver's licenses." The instrumentality sets minimum information standards for licence issuance and production.

Many Americans question by airplane conscionable erstwhile oregon doubly a year, and nether erstwhile President Joe Biden past year, the TSA had said it was considering giving up to 3 warnings earlier travelers were told they could not question connected aboriginal flights without a caller ID.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy)