US Delays Enforcing Tougher ID Rules Until May 2023: DHS

US Delays Enforcing Tougher ID Rules Until May 2023: DHS
A Christmas week traveler stands by a security gate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., Dec. 22, 2020. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
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WASHINGTON—The U.S. Homeland Security Department confirmed on Tuesday it will delay enforcement of rules requiring Americans to get new identification cards in order to board airplanes or enter a federal building by another 19 months until May 3, 2023.

The department in March 2020 had extended the “REAL ID” deadline until October 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic that prompted many states to suspend issuing new driver’s licenses. Congress in 2005 approved federal standards for issuing identification cards but enforcement has been repeatedly delayed.