REAL ID: Its Power & Purpose Will Be Realized When Everyone Complies

After decades of delays, the REAL ID went into effect across the United States on May 7, 2025. The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on our nation and the subsequent recommendations of the George W. Bush-era 9/11 Commission (we are told), which focused on the ease with which terrorists were able to obtain driver’s licenses and ID cards. Now a must-have to board commercial domestic flights or enter certain federal buildings, many believe that, instead of deterring crooks or terrorists, REAL ID is a very real threat to privacy, opening the door for a national digital ID card that—with no limitations set for the information that may eventually be placed on the card—will swiftly lead to the nationalization of all identification and establish a social credit surveillance system in our nation.

Why is REAL ID a threat to privacy? For starters, many believe that having a national ID will do nothing to stop terrorism, but everything to destroy our privacy and erode our civil liberties for no effective gain. Moreover, if you dig deeper, REAL ID was not a recommendation of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. To be clear, of its more than 400 substantive pages, the 9/11 Commission dedicated less than a whole page to address identity security related to 9/11. Additionally, the REAL ID Act overruled the provisions in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that Congress had passed in reaction to the findings from the 9/11 Commission. Indeed, REAL ID canceled a negotiated rule-making strategy that recruited input from others, including state motor vehicle administrators and privacy advocates.

Make whatever you want of it, but once in full force, REAL ID will be nothing short of a national ID, combining complex state data collection systems into a master database capable of sharing endless information behind the scenes on every single American 18 years of age and older. Wise beyond his years, Ron Paul shared his thoughts on REAL ID just before it passed the House decades ago, stating:

“This is the nationalization of all identification. It will be the introduction of the notion that we will be carrying our papers. As a matter of fact, I think it might even be a little bit worse than just carrying our papers and showing our papers, because in this bill, there are no limitations on the information that may be placed on this identification card. There are minimum standards, but no maximum limitations. And the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can add anything at once.”

In strong opposition to HR 418, Ron Paul explained that if a future administration wants to include a person’s membership in a pro-gun group on their national ID card, they could because there are no limits on what information can be included, no restrictions on biometrics, and no barriers to using radio frequency identification. Even decades ago, this technology was already used in passports, allowing information to be read without showing documents, but merely by passing someone with a reader. Again, Paul reminded that there’s no cap on what can be embedded in these documents.

Paul explained that, while the intent may be good, REAL ID is misguided and would do little more than simply redefine terrorism without constraints. He compared it to the gun debate, noting that conservatives know you don’t register guns because criminals won’t register guns. Yet, REAL ID registers every American. But think about it, terrorists don’t need driver’s licenses—they can steal cars, planes, or buses. Yet, under the guise of halting terrorism, REAL ID will be registering and tracking law-abiding Americans while terrorists continue to evade the law. Americans will be forced to comply or face prison, while terrorists avoid the law.

With the “deadline” to get a REAL ID passed, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) now requires travelers to have REAL IDs (state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs obtained in person after presenting proof of identity and date of birth), or other acceptable forms of identification (TSA notes this list could change without notice), such as a U.S. passport or passport card, a DHS trusted traveler card (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST), a U.S. Department of Defense ID, a Permanent resident card, a border crossing card, a foreign government issued passport, a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), and a few others.

Even though the May 7 deadline has come and gone, the process has not yet been entirely transformed. For now, TSA will most likely issue warnings to those not in compliance. Still, the new regulation states that ID-checking agencies must “determine that a phased enforcement plan is appropriate in consideration of relevant factors including security, operational feasibility, and public impact.” In other words, they must coordinate with DHS and publish their plans on their webpages. They also have two years—until May 5, 2027—to achieve full enforcement. The regulation states, “The rule also requires agencies to coordinate their plans with DHS, make the plans publicly available, and achieve full enforcement by May 5, 2027.”

Let’s not be fooled. The pandemic exposed the very real agenda at play to expand government surveillance, implement tracking and tracing, and set up social scorekeeping during the pandemic. REAL ID brazenly opens the door for this. Reminiscent of inherent knowing inside those of us who understood NOT to get the experimental mRNA COVID jabs, Thomas Massie outlined the scenario at hand perfectly in a post on X, declaring:

“REAL ID isn’t a database.

It’s proof that your physical person matches an entry in the digital database.

Its power & purpose will be realized when everyone complies, but not before.

This is responsive to “I didn’t give them much information, I’ve had one for years, why worry?”