A line forms outside the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Portland last Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

AUGUSTA — State officials are asking the Trump administration to delay the strict enforcement of a requirement that people show a Real ID or equivalent form of identification if they want to fly commercially starting Wednesday.

But a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security, threw cold water on the request shortly after it was announced Thursday, telling the Press Herald that the administration plans to enforce the law beginning May 7.

Beginning Wednesday, Americans will need to present a Real ID, passport or other federally recognized identification to fly on commercial airlines or enter federal buildings. Maine officials worry that the mandate will create travel disruptions and airport delays without a phase-in period to give Maine residents more time to comply.

A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Thursday that they are asking federal authorities to phase in the enforcement and begin by issuing warnings to air travelers without a Real ID or other federally compliant identification, without interfering with their ability to travel.

“We are very concerned,” Bellows said at a news conference Thursday. “We want Mainers to be able to get to where they need to go.”

As of April 1, only 27% of the credentials issued by the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles were Real IDs, and it can take four weeks for someone to receive a Real ID in the mail after applying, according to state officials, who were mostly worried about people who don’t travel frequently, or who need to travel because of an emergency.

Maine, along with Washington state, has the third-lowest percentage of residents with Real IDs. Only New Jersey (17%) and Pennsylvania (26%) have lower rates of Real ID uptake, according to an analysis conducted by CBS News. Thirty states have compliance rates under 70%, while a dozen states have rates above 96%.

Bellows, along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers serving on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, signed a letter Thursday asking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the TSA to issue warnings to people who don’t have a federally recognized IDs and allow them to travel.

The effort appears to be a long shot. It’s not clear whether the federal government is entertaining such requests. And Maine has been targeted for months by the Trump administration for defying the president’s executive order on transgender athletes.

Customers wait to get help at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Portland last Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Bellows said she has spoken with officials from other states who are also worried about travel impacts beginning next week. But she’s not aware of any other states joining in Maine’s request for a phased implementation of enforcement, or making their own request.

“Today, Maine is taking a lead role,” Bellows said.

TSA NOT RECEPTIVE

A TSA spokesperson did not sound open to Maine’s request.

“The REAL ID Act was passed 20 years ago to address security vulnerability,” a spokesperson said in a written statement. “This administration and (the) DHS secretary have determined that it’s important that we keep the implementation date of May 7, 2025, and that we enforce the law.”

Rep. Lydia Crafts, D-Newcastle, said that the TSA has indicated that people without compliant ID may still be allowed to travel, as long as they go through additional security screenings. But Crafts is concerned that such a process would cause longer lines and present a challenge at smaller airports like those in Maine.

“We’re concerned about the anticipated volume of extra screenings that may overwhelm TSA’s capabilities, causing concerns for both safety and traveler convenience,” said Crafts, who co-chairs the Transportation Committee.

States have had about two decades to prepare for arrival of Real ID, which was introduced in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. But opposition from privacy advocates, including in Maine, has stalled the rollout from its original date of Oct. 1, 2020, to next week.

Maine was one of the last states to comply with the federal mandate in 2018.

People wait for their turn inside the BMV office in Portland last Friday. Offices statewide have been overwhelmed with people hoping to get a Real ID before the May 7 deadline. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Bellows herself helped lead the charge against the Real ID mandate when she was executive director of the ACLU of Maine and a state senator. But in her current role, she has urged Mainers to comply with the requirement, saying some steps have been taken to address concerns about protecting people’s personal information.

The request comes as lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill that would stop the state from issuing any additional Real IDs. That bill, LD 160, sponsored by Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, and five Democrats, was heard April 15, but the committee has yet to take action on it.

DELAYS LED TO COMPLACENCY

Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, said Maine’s resistance to Real ID and repeated delays by the federal government have made many residents complacent.

“I kind of relate this to the boy who cried wolf,” Farrin said. “I think people got a little complacent. I think we have every intention to comply with Real ID. I just think there’s a lot of Mainers, especially those in rural Maine, that have not either taken it seriously, or thought there was going to be another pause.”

Bellows said BMV staff have been working overtime to handle a surge of applications as the deadline approaches and other staff have been reassigned to help. But the agency is still not able to keep up with the demand, which means some residents may not get their IDs before they need them for travel.

“We do think Mainers are making a very good-faith effort,” Bellows said. “We see it in the lines at the BMV branches, but we only have so many staff, and we can only issue so many credentials.”

Bellows encouraged people who don’t have immediate travel plans to make an appointment online to skirt the long wait times and obtain the card in the coming months.

She said people with an appointment are usually finished within 10 minutes, while those without one could wait hours.

Standards for a Real ID are consistent across the 50 states and involve a higher level of verification than standard driver’s licenses or IDs. An individual must bring proof of identification and citizenship/lawful status, such as a certified birth certificate, two forms proving residency and a Social Security number. Proof of any legal name changes must also be provided, if applicable.

Real IDs, which have digital photos, can be used with facial recognition software. They also require the digital archiving of identity documents such as birth certificates or Social Security numbers.

The Real ID license costs about $9 per year, or $10 for older adults; a Real ID nondriver card is $5 a year; and a passport costs $16.50 per year for the first 10 years and $13 annually after that.