The secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, says airline passengers without REAL ID — the enhanced identification mandated by Congress nearly 20 years ago — will be allowed to fly even though the identification was supposed to be mandatory as of Wednesday. Ms. Noem says, though, that those travelers will be taken through additional security steps. 

During testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Ms. Noem said that Americans concerned about being stranded at airports and kept from boarding their flights have nothing to worry about for the time being. She stated that those without the identification “may be diverted to a different line” or “have an extra step.” She did not elaborate. 

“But people will be allowed to fly,” Ms. Noem told lawmakers. “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

At the same time, she said REAL ID enforcement will still begin on Wednesday for those travelers who do have the state-issued identification card. 

“Tomorrow is the day that REAL ID will finally be enforced,” she said. “Eighty-one percent of the travelers that travel by airline in the United States today are already compliant, so they have IDs that they will be able to use, just like they normally always have been.”

“We will be honoring passports, other federally recognized IDs. Tribal IDs will be recognized,” she said. “We recognize that this is a security issue.”

“We will make sure that it is as seamless as possible and that travelers will get to stay on their intended itinerary, but we are telling people that this law will be enforced and it will allow us to know individuals in this country — who they are and that they’re authorized to travel,” the secretary told the committee. 

The law establishing a federally compliant, state-issued identification card was signed by President Bush on May 11, 2005 — just shy of 20 years ago. The law was passed by Congress as a way to combat potential terrorist threats in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Real ID standards were meant to be enforced beginning in 2008, though the enforcement day kept getting pushed back because states and territories were not compliant.

Some of the requirements for Real IDs are that the holder’s photograph, signature, and full name be included. The cards must also be machine-readable. In order to issue Real IDs, states and territories must get at least two documents with applicants’ addresses, and their birth certificates must be run through a federal database. 

Some in the libertarian camp have raised concerns that the federal government is overstepping by creating a nationwide database of American citizens’ personal information that could be subject to cyberattacks. A well-known libertarian in the House, Congressman Thomas Massie, called the REAL ID just another method of “control.”

“Real ID isn’t needed and won’t stop terrorists from hijacking planes. Most of the 9/11 hijackers held Saudi, UAE, Egyptian, or Lebanese passports,” Mr. Massie wrote on X in April after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the law would be enforced starting on May 7. “Real ID is a national standard and database of IDs that is primarily a tool for control of Americans. Trump shouldn’t enforce it.”