For 20 years, the actual ID law has been suffering from enforcement purgatory. But Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem recently announced that it was about to change.
Anyone looking to enter a federal building, or want to fly or tour a nuclear power plant will immediately need an actual ID. According to Noem, this is for our own good. She said:
Starting May 7th, you will need an actual ID to travel in the air or visit federal buildings in the US. These IDs keep our country safe as they help prevent fraud and increase security. Do your part in protecting our country. Please don't delay going today.
Conservative pushback
However, many Americans are not interested in “playing their role.” Noem's announcement caused a serious pushback.
Former president Ron Paul (R-Texas) compared the actual ID justification for the false justifications Americans received about the Federal Reserve Bank. He laughs at how he's “always twisting” laws like these, and points out that he tricks people into believing it is for his own safety. He said that Federal Reserve supporters justified the monster by claiming it would prevent money from being falsified. In fact, the Fed's point was to establish a monopoly on the currency. According to him, the real IDs are similar. It is designed to establish a government monopoly. Paul showed that he was disillusioned with the Trump administration:
I'm not very happy with the direction we're going now. It appears that if this bill is reopened and gets worse, we will lose more privacy. It seems that it can still deal a lot of damage.
Representative Thomas Massey (R-KY) is also a vocal opponent. He said the actual ID would not accomplish what the government claims.
No real ID is required and does not stop terrorists from hijacking the plane. Most of the 9/11 hijackers held their passports in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egyptian or Lebanese. Real ID is a national standard and database of IDs, primarily a tool for American control. Trump shouldn't force it.
The popular conservative YouTuber asked, “Why not delay it like in past administrations? Americans don't want a big state of surveillance from the government.”
The American Policy Center said that the actual IDs “each have a very terrible number of tentacles.” The group also believes the law could threaten Americans' gun rights.
You may mistakenly believe that a secretary to the Department of Homeland Security will never add to purchasing firearms or ammunition to the official purposes of the Real ID Act of 2005… In fact, California Democrats have already moved in that direction. The attempt failed at the time as not all states/federals were certified as having actual ID compliance. In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security identifies all states/federals as compliant with their actual IDs.
DHS secretaries can request the seller of firearms and/or ammunition to swipe the back of the actual ID compliant driver license and provide information to the DHS.
Opposition to ACLU
The law is so bad that it caused a rare episode of clarity and dedication to values from the ACLU's New York chapter. The ACLU warned that actual IDs would create the first national identification system in American history. It also sets federal standards for state driver's licenses and identification cards. This means you need to vote, go to the ball game, access Medicaid, get your guns (you read that right. The ACLU is suddenly worried about gun rights). According to the ACLU, actual identity requirements could also spill over the private sector. And it “can establish a vast amount of electronic infrastructure that government and law enforcement officials, or others who are hacking, can use to track American activity and movements.”
Please give me a paper
Paul had similar arguments in 2005 before the bill was passed. He claimed on the floor of the house that the actual ID leads to nationalisation of all identifications. “It would be an introduction to the concept of us carrying papers,” Paul said, and there were no restrictions on the actual ID bill. This means “There is a minimum standard, but there is no maximum limit.” This means that the government can add what they need, including categories for those in the gun club.
He took more similarity to the gun. Some supporters really believe that an actual ID makes Americans safe, but the argument is solid enough that the gun registration tells authorities which criminals have guns. He said, “You're looking for terrorists, so you're registering all Americans – and what terrorists are trying to do is to avoid the law. But Americans have to follow the law, otherwise we'll go to prison.”
Actual ID origin
The Congress passed the actual ID in 2005 after being recommended by the 9/11 committee. James Sensebrenner (R-Wis.) sponsored the law. Sensebrenner also wrote the Patriot Law. This gave the federal government a huge latitude to legally spy on Americans.
The main argument for actual IDs was to strengthen national security by preventing terrorists from obtaining fake IDs. Sensebrenner also promoted it as a way to support law enforcement. And according to the Venerable 9/11 committee, Real ID closes the security gap that allowed that horrible day to happen.
Security Failure
Some may find this final argument particularly pissing. There is reliable evidence to suggest that the US national security device had detailed information about 9/11 before it happened, but for some reason it didn't act on it. Former FBI director Louis Free pointed this out in the Wall Street Journal on November 17, 2005, entitled “Why Did the 9/11 Committee Disregard “Competent Risks”?”
Able Danger was a military intelligence campaign that he knew Mohamed Atta, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack, was named and perhaps Face by, according to Curt Weldon, a former senior Senator. I also knew Atta was run in New York. According to the former FBI director, by mid-2000, three other 9/11 hijackers had been identified. However, as Freeh pointed out, “The final 9/11 Committee Report, released on July 22, 2004, concluded that “the American intelligence agency had not noticed Mr. ATTA until the day of the attack.” This now seems embarrassingly wrong. ”
So those who came up with real IDs (for “national security” reasons) are the same people who lied to the report that Intel existed to stop 9/11, or were too incompetent.
This is reminiscent of arguments made for the restrictions on more guns after shooting and the red flag law, conveniently ignoring that shooters were already on the FBI radar.
The John Birch Society opposes actual IDs
The magazine, an affiliate of the John Birch Society, writes at length about Real ID issues. Our article, entitled “Real ID Soon: An Inevitable Extension of Federal Surveillance Condition,” outlined one additional issue with the law, echoing what has already been mentioned.
The federal government does not have the authority to mandate national identification documents. “This federal overreach is a very obvious act of seizing that all state lawmakers should take their shoulders in resistance to such tyrannical design,” we noted. This point is rarely mentioned, but it is the most important thing. The founders and past generations would never have enjoyed such statisticalist ideas. This is not entirely acceptable in any country where people who take pride in being free are inhabited.
