Source: The Atlantic
by Juliette Kayyem
“Today, nearly 20 years after Congress passed legislation mandating a nationwide program known as Real ID, was the deadline for travelers to show the new identification for domestic flights. And yet nothing has happened. Although about 20 percent of the traveling public is still not compliant …. Homeland Security has done little more than issue a leaflet that people really, really, really should have the correct ID next time. The Trump administration may try to take credit for a smooth rollout — smooth because it wasn’t a rollout at all. Today’s deadline was largely artificial: According to the fine print of the regulations governing Real ID’s implementation, Homeland Security has until the end of 2027 to phase in the program in full. So the administration took today’s deadline to assure Americans that they could still fly, while it focused on another priority: immigration enforcement, rather than safety provision.” [editor’s note: How about neither? – TLK]