Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem ultimately complied with Americans 20 years after Congress passed the law with the announcement that actual IDs would need to fly from May 7th.
On May 11, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Actual Identity Act to strengthen national security in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The law, passed by the US Congress, set federal standards for issuing identification documents, including driver's licenses.
Starting next month, you will need an actual ID to access federal facilities and enter the nuclear power plant and the board's commercial aircraft. The development of Real ID has faced nearly 20 years of political gender change, set-off and delays.
Two years after it was passed, the National Association of Governors (NGA), National Congress of State Assembly (NCSL), and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) cited its implementation to be delayed, citing logistics concerns.
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President George W. Bush has signed the Actual Identity Act to strengthen national security in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Twenty years later, President Donald Trump's administration set a deadline for the full actual ID implementation on May 7, 2025. (Getty Images)
The state and advocacy groups have refused to implement it since its death. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a longtime opponent of real-life ID implementation, was called “discriminatory, expensive, burdensome, invasive and ultimately counterproductive” as disapproval grew nationwide in 2007. By 2009, at least 25 states had enacted laws opposed to actual ID laws.
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The state has rejected the actual ID for a variety of reasons, including costs, state rights and privacy concerns. Three years after the law was passed, the first deadline for Real IDs was set on May 11, 2008. However, in the face of opposition, the DHS extended its deadline until May 11, 2011 under the Barack Obama administration.
DHS later implemented a four-stage plan that was extended beyond the 2011 deadline. By 2016, 23 states were fully compliant with the actual ID Act, with 27 states and territories being granted extensions, while six were not expanded without extensions.
Homeland Security Secretary Christi Noem will visit the Port of Mariposa in Nogales, Arizona on March 15th, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
By January 22, 2018, travelers will no longer be permitted to use state-issued IDs for domestic travel, and by October 1, 2020, they will be required to use Real IDs or another acceptable form of identification “Document Travel.”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for real IDs to October 1, 2021. That deadline was extended until May 3, 2023 by President Joe Biden's administration, due to circumstances stemming from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
President Donald Trump will remove his face mask as he poses on the Truman balcony in the White House after returning from hospitalization at Walter Reed Medical Center on October 5, 2020 at Walter Reed Medical Center. (Reuters/Erin Scott/File Photo)
The Biden administration ultimately extended the deadline to May 7, 2025, giving the state “additional time to ensure they have a driver license and identification that meets the security standards established by the actual identity law.”
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Noem announced on May 7, 2025 that the deadline would apply as the Trump administration seeks to prevent illegal immigrants from traveling around the United States.
“From May 7th, the actual ID will need to fly. The actual ID will make it difficult to formulate identification and disrupt criminals and terrorists. If you are planning to fly, get your actual ID so that you don't get rejected from delays in flights or face trips!” Noem said.
