Spanish
New York.- The United States Government requires, starting this Wednesday, a new identification document called "Real ID," which has federal verifications, to travel within the country, after years of warnings to a population reluctant due to privacy concerns, although with signs that this new stage will begin with some flexibility.
The requirement for that identity document, standardized throughout the country, comes with the entry into force of the Real ID Act, which was approved in 2005 to strengthen airport security after the terrorist attacks of September 2001, but whose application has been postponed on several occasions.
Until now, residents could travel to the center of the country with identifications, generally driver's licenses issued by each state, so the Government's notices for Americans to obtain this card have generated concern and a strong last-minute demand.
To obtain the Real ID, which includes a star, one must provide in an office -those in charge of regulating motor vehicles- the name, date of birth, social security number, two proofs of residency, and confirmation of legal status in the U.S., indicates the website of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In New York, for example, the offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles have had lines in recent weeks, and in this and other states they have extended hours and even exceptionally opened on Saturdays to attend to those appointments.
Fear that it will be used for immigration control
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been denouncing for years that the states, which remain in charge of issuing driver's licenses, now with federal verifications, will be forced to regulate immigration by judging whether the person has legal status or not.
Groups defending immigrants have warned that the application of the law will especially affect undocumented immigrants, as driver's licenses for people without legal status issued, for example, in California, will not be accepted.
In that sense, the TSA recently said that "foreigners who are illegally in the U.S. and voluntarily self-deport on international flights will not be denied boarding under this requirement."
However, DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, expressed this Tuesday before Congress some flexibility in the transition stage towards the Real ID and said that people will be able to fly on domestic flights even if they do not yet have the document, although submitting to an "additional step" of security.
Noem did not clarify whether this exception will be limited to only the first day of the application of the Real ID Law or will be extended for a longer period.
The DHS states on its website that if travelers present a state-issued identification that is not Real ID at the airport and do not have a passport or other valid document, "they will be notified that they are not in compliance (with the law), may be directed to a separate area, and may be subject to further evaluation."
Currently, 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints present acceptable identification, including a state-issued Real ID.
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The DHS website, which displayed a countdown until today, offers more information about Real ID, whose purpose is not limited to domestic flights, but will serve to access federal facilities and nuclear power plants.
The ACLU has also denounced that with Real ID the federal government will have a database of residents, something that the DHS refutes by assuring that it is not a "national identification card" and that each jurisdiction is responsible for the issuance, records and access to that data.
