News Update - June 28, 2008
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
Failure to Show Identification May Cost You Your Flight
As of June 21, 2008, passengers who decline to show identification
at the security checkpoints in airports will be denied entry to
any secure areas. This change in regulations will only affect those
individuals who refuse to provide any form of identification or
fail to assist airport personnel in discovering their identity.
However, this does not mean passengers who do not have, misplaced,
or lost their ID are out of luck. Cooperative passengers in these
situations may still board by volunteering to additional screening
protocols, which include enhanced physical screening of both the
passenger and his/her baggage.
This change is made under the Aviation and Transportation Security
Act (TSA), whose administrators are charged with overseeing aviation
security (P.L. 107-71) and is therefore vested with authority to
establish and modify security procedures at airports as is deemed
necessary (49 C.F. R. § 1540.107). Passengers who choose not
to comply with these security processes risk being denied entry
to the secure area, and missing their flights (49 C.F.R. §
1540.105(a)(2).
How this regulatory change dovetails with immigration enforcement
efforts or the later implementation of the secure document requirement
of the REAL ID Act remains to be seen.
Homeland Security Approves $80 Million Grant Towards REAL ID Program
The Department of Homeland Security announced its Fiscal Year 2008
REAL ID Demonstration Grant awards totaling nearly $80 million towards
assisting states in their venture to improve the security of state-issued
driver’s licenses (DL) and other identification documents.
All of the 48 states and territories which applied will be awarded
a portion of this available funding.
The grants were designed to enhance the physical security of licenses,
upgrade facility protection, and upgrade document scanning and storage.
In addition, funding will also be available for the development
and testing of a verification hub. Said hub would provide states
with an official communication link to federal and non-federal document-issuing
authorities and allow them to verify applicant source documents.
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