From libertarian firebrands to civil liberties watchdogs, an unusual coalition is sounding the alarm ahead of the federal government’s long-delayed implementation of REAL ID requirements, set to take effect on Wednesday.

The week began with the Department of Homeland Security posting on X: “REAL ID will make America safer and more secure. Starting May 7, you will need a REAL ID to fly. Illegal aliens should not be allowed to fly in the U.S. UNLESS SELF DEPORTING.” The posting included a video of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem making a similar point.

However, Noem appeared to waffle by the following day. Speaking to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Noem said that 81% of American travelers already have compliant IDs and that those who don’t “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step.”

“But people will be allowed to fly,” Noem followed up, adding, “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

It was not immediately clear if this was a relaxation of the enforcement deadline or a reiteration of current processes. Several presidents have repeatedly pushed back the REAL ID deadline over the past two decades. However, there appeared to be a recent tonal shift when the Trump administration refused to grant another delay to Kentucky.

Despite the seemingly more strict stance, the DHS FAQ on REAL ID strikes a tone more similar to the one Noem used on Capitol Hill: “Passengers who present a state-issued identification that is not REAL ID compliant at TSA checkpoints and who do not have another acceptable alternative form of ID will be notified of their non-compliance, may be directed to a separate area and may receive additional screening.”

Like Noem, this statement seems to imply that some non-compliant ID holders will still be able to fly, even without other forms of identification.

Notwithstanding the strictness of enforcement, critics across the political spectrum are pushing back. Republican lawmakers, famous columnists, and left-wing advocates all warn that the policy is invasive, ineffective, and dangerous to liberty.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie posted a video of former Texas congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul speaking on the House floor in 2005 as the REAL ID bill was under consideration.

“Ron Paul on Real ID just before it passed the House decades ago along with the Patriot Act,” Massie wrote. “Ron Paul was right.”

Paul, then one of the most outspoken critics of expansive federal power, told Congress, “I am quite confident that this bill, if you vote for it you will be voting for a national ID card. I know they say this is voluntary but it really can’t be voluntary, if a state opts out, nobody is going to accept their driver’s license. So this is not voluntary… it will be the introduction of the notion that we will be carrying our papers.”

The Texan indicated that carrying papers was worrisome because there was no statutory constraint on what Americans could be required to carry. “The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can add anything it wants,” Paul added.

Paul also warned the law would create a de facto registry of law-abiding citizens while doing little to stop actual criminals or terrorists.

Columnist Ann Coulter concurred with another Massie post about REAL ID. “He should also get rid of TSA,” she tweeted to the Congressman, referring to President Donald Trump.

The American Civil Liberties Union has also condemned the law.

ACLU wrote: “While it is ostensibly aimed at improving driver’s license security, its actual effect is to turn those same licenses into national ID cards by stipulating that state driver’s licenses and state ID cards will not be accepted for “federal purposes”—including boarding an aircraft or entering a federal facility—unless they meet all of the law’s numerous conditions.”

The group continued. “If fully implemented, the law would facilitate the tracking of data on individuals and bring government into the very center of every citizen’s life. By definitively turning driver’s licenses into a form of national identity documents, Real ID would have a tremendously destructive impact on privacy. It would also impose significant administrative burdens and expenses on state governments, and it would mean higher fees, longer lines, repeat visits to the DMV, and bureaucratic nightmares for individuals.”

Americans without a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card will still be able to fly—but only if they present a valid passport or other TSA-approved form of identification.

However, passport ownership varies widely across the U.S. In Texas, just 54% of citizens hold a valid passport, according to 2024 figures from the Center for American Progress. West Virginia has the lowest rate in the country, with only 20% of citizens possessing a passport.

Despite DHS’s insistence that the new requirements enhance security, its official FAQs do not describe how the program will make Americans physically safer. Instead, they note that “REAL ID is a national set of standards, not a national identification card” and that the law does not create a centralized federal database.

The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005 as a post-9/11 security measure intended to standardize identity documents nationwide. It requires state-issued IDs to meet minimum federal security standards for boarding domestic flights and entering certain federal facilities.

Although REAL ID was created pursuant to a 9/11-era law, the measure would likely not have stopped the 9/11 attacks. Of the 19 terrorists involved in the attacks, at least six used fake names and forged Saudi passports, not identification from any American state.

Moreover, no domestic terror attack of a similar scale has occurred on a commercial airline since 2001, despite years of incomplete national compliance with REAL ID.

Notably, while the agency’s tweet claimed that illegal aliens would not be permitted to fly, its FAQs clarify that individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status and valid employment documentation may still qualify for temporary REAL ID licenses. States may also continue to issue non-compliant IDs to individuals regardless of immigration status.