Citizens' Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) is calling on the American public to submit comments on the latest REAL ID regulation issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
"TSA and DHS plan to make citizens suffer until they submit," Twila Brase, president and co-founder of Citizens' Council for Health Freedom said in a press release. "REAL ID is more than just a government ID; it's an unconstitutional usurpation of individual and states' rights that gives the Secretary of Homeland Security unilateral authority to decide what it must be used for, far beyond access to commercial airlines."
Deadline looms
Homeland Security has on its website a 'Countdown to REAL ID Enforcement,' adding that on May 7, 2025, travelers must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities. An FAQ section also shares the following information:
"Passed by Congress in 2005, Homeland Security states the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the Federal Government "set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses."
The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards. These purposes are: access certain federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, and entering nuclear power plants."
CCHF is concerned because REAL ID could one day be used in the health care sector.
"It's a National ID, as Sen. Lamar Alexander once said from the floor of the U.S. Senate, a National ID pushed by state DMVs that want to put it on everyone's phone where it can be remotely controlled," said Brase. "Americans must speak up now before the October 15 deadline to stop the continued enforcement of this unconstitutional federal identification and control system."
Punishment from the Feds
The proposed TSA/DHS regulation presents several actions including but not limited to:
• No further extension of the May 7, 2025 deadline
• A two-year period of progressive enforcement of the REAL ID deadline to end on May 7, 2027
• Authorization for progressive consequences for those who present without a REAL ID compliant ID
Consequences could include written warnings for travelers arriving at airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID or potential delays at security checkpoints as officials estimate that 30% of state-issued IDs would not be compliant by May 2025.
There could also be additional costs associated with efforts to obtain a REAL ID at the last minute.
The deadline to file a public comment is Tuesday, October 15.
