TSA begins REAL ID enforcement; What travelers need to know
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) —The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now enforcing the federal REAL ID requirement.
Most airports are operating smoothly on the first day of the REAL ID requirement
Beginning Wednesday, May 7, travelers boarding domestic flights will need to present a REAL ID, typically marked by a gold star on the top corner of a state-issued driver's license or ID card.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 98 percent of Texas DLs and IDs are REAL ID compliant, as of May.
For those who do not have a REAL ID, travel is still possible, but it may take more time at the airport. TSA officers will take other forms of valid identification, including a passport, a resident card, or a tribal ID.
'If you still don't have any of those 13 or 14 documents that we have listed, you will actually be asked a series of questions for our officers to verify your identity. This is not punitive. We don't want to keep you from flying. We simply want to validate and verify your identity,' TSA spokesperson Patricia Mancha said.
Officials in Texas have a site that details all the information and the requirements to get a REAL ID. Across the country, people lined up for hours at their local DMV offices to upgrade to the new identification system.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on Wednesday that 81 percent of travelers already have REAL IDs, and that security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification.
The Wednesday deadlines come nearly 20 years after the initial deadline for the new ID requirements, after the law was passed in 2005, with an original deadline of 2008.
The REAL ID is not a substitute when traveling internationally, you'll need one to enter and return from other countries.
'If you leave the United States, like in Juarez, you go to Juarez or you go to other places, and in other countries, you will still need a passport or whatever travel document is required to re-enter the country. You cannot just, take your REAL ID and assume that you will be allowed entry into the country,' Mancha said.
Those who still do not have REAL ID-compliant cards can schedule an appointment at their local DL office online here.
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