If nothing changes, drivers from ME, MT, NH & SC can’t fly
The Department and Homeland Security (DHS) and Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina are playing a game of bureaucratic chicken. Back in January, DHS laid down the law.
The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes.
The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had a total of four driver’s licenses and ID cards from three states. The DHS, which was created in response to the attacks, has created a slogan for REAL ID: “One driver, one license.”
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Most states have complied or applied for legal waivers. Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina have not complied nor have they filed the necessary paperwork for an extension or the deadline. Come May 11, there may be a big problem.
A US law enacted in 2005 compels states to issue licenses–the primary form of identification used by US citizens–with multiple federally approved security features. While the deadline for first-phase compliance is May 11, DHS has issued numerous extensions to states that have demonstrated they are progressing toward issuing approved licenses in the next few years. But the deadline for applying for an extension is March 31 and Maine, Montana and South Carolina have yet to do so. It also is unclear whether New Hampshire properly sought one.
The noncomplying states insist their licenses are secure and complain that making the required changes would be unnecessarily costly. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) called the federal law a “boondoggle” and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) said he may file a lawsuit against DHS.
In a letter to US senators representing the four states in question, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff warned that “showing up at the airport [after May 11] with only a driver’s license from such a state will be no better than showing up without identification.” Passengers would be able to use passports, but fewer than 30% of Americans are believed to have passports and even those who do are unaccustomed to carrying them for domestic travel.
Of course everyone with a passport can fly (just remember to bring it with you) and if passengers are born before Dec. 1, 1964, the old drivers licenses from these rogue states will still work just fine. It seems that DHS is not expecting any old terrorists — sounds like some kind of profiling to me.
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