The REAL ID Act, initiated post-9/11 for enhanced airport security, requires compliant identification for domestic travel, with enforcement beginning May 7. Despite being 20 years in the making, many travelers remain unprepared, leading to concerns of chaos at TSA checkpoints. As of mid-April, 81% of travelers had the necessary IDs, but a sizable minority, unaware or unconcerned, may face unexpected delays. Critics point out the lack of public awareness and the law's complex history of delays and privacy concerns.
"People will experience travel delays," Patricia Mancha, a TSA spokesperson, told CBS News in April. "People have had years to really plan for this, so TSA will simply enforce the laws and the rules as they apply."
"Most people have no idea what [the REAL ID Act] is about other than thinking of it as a mere inconvenience that they're about to face in the Department of Motor Vehicles," Udi Ofer, a former attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, told Vox. "But when the law passed, there was an incredible ideological diversity in the voices of opposition."
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