It's the punch line to a bad joke that started 20 years ago when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.

Only the government could spend 20 years creating a national ID that no one wanted and that apparently doesn’t even work as a national ID.

But that’s what the federal government has accomplished with the REAL ID, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now considers unreliable, even though getting one requires providing proof of citizenship or lawful status in the country.

In a December 11 court filing, Philip Lavoie, the acting assistant special agent in charge of DHS’ Mobile, Alabama, office, stated that, “REAL ID can be unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship.”

  • nocturne@piefed.socialEnglish
    6·
    4 hours ago

    I have been unable to get a real id because when I was 8 my parents changed my name. Then when I lived in Maryland there refused to issue an ID using my now legal name. When I moved back to my home state of New Mexico my id used my birth name as it was on my Maryland id. Now I have half my stuff using my birth name, half using my legal name, cannot get a real id.

    This year I plan to change my legal name back to my birth name… or maybe something totally different.