The United States government’s Department of Homeland Security announced Monday it is delaying until May of 2025 requiring people to present REAL ID compliant identification to make it through security checkpoints at American airports. This delay extends a previous delay in implementation of the requirement that was set to expire in May of 2023.

In 2005, when the US House of Representatives considered the REAL ID Act, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) presented a brief speech on the House floor in which he layed out a strong pro-liberty case against REAL ID. You can watch Paul’s speech here.

The new delay is good news for liberty. But, it is not as good of news as many people may expect given that all state governments are now producing identification that is compliant with REAL ID. Likely included is the driver license in your wallet or purse. State governments have fallen in line on Real ID through successive earlier delays in roll out of the REAL ID requirement for air travelers, originally scheduled for implementation in 2008.

Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.