The TSA's New $45 Fee to Fly Without ID Is Illegal

Post by ehasbrouck » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 2:23 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #56

Forgeties79 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$45 x millions of people (some multiple times) = an incredibly consequential amount of money

It's not millions of people, most people get Real ID. In the context of airport security budgets, it's not that much. And it's used for hiring the additional staff required and putting together the identity verification systems they use.

Post by nobody9999 » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #140

eitally wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's be more precise. The TSA has created extra work for themselves, and are charging us for it, whether it's legally required or not (because they pretend that it is).

Sure. But it's not "pretend". It's genuine regulatory policy they've created because they believe it's necessary for security, and this has been a decades-long project. The article is arguing they don't ultimately have the legal authority to make that regulatory policy. Maybe that'll go to court and be tested, maybe they'll win and maybe they'll lose. If they lose, maybe Congress will pass explicit legislative author…

   ...The courts have repeatedly struck down limits on domestic travel over the 
   past couple hundred years.

   In fact, the $45 "fee" is an acknowledgment that you aren't required to have 
   special documents to travel within the US. Otherwise, they just wouldn't let 
   you travel.

   So instead, they're making more security theater and punishing you if you 
   don't comply with their demands...

Post by ehasbrouck » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #20

ggm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could even double them up as government issued voter-ID and save all that hassle every 4 years. Or the current round of random stop-and-search going on...

The people eligible for passports are not the same group of people eligible for voter id since there are a few jurisdictions where non-citizens can vote in certain elections. Voting is also a responsibility of the states (even at the federal level), so there isn't really such thing as a federal voter id since each state has different eligibility requirements for voters that don't necessarily align with passport eligi…

Post by throwaway7783 » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 2:47 AM UTC

forgetfreeman wrote: post #152

crazygringo wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. But it's not "pretend". It's genuine regulatory policy they've created because they believe it's necessary for security, and this has been a decades-long project. The article is arguing they don't ultimately have the legal authority to make that regulatory policy. Maybe that'll go to court and be tested, maybe they'll win and maybe they'll lose. If they lose, maybe Congress will pass explicit legislative author…

I mean I could hire someone to continuously dig and refill the a hole in the ground. That would certainly be them doing a thing, but it would also definitely be fake work. There's been plenty of rhetoric thrown around but no real evidence has been produced that suggests the TSA isn't engaging in a bit of circular digging at the taxpayer's expense with this.

Post by raw_anon_1111 » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 2:50 AM UTC

stonogo wrote: post #189

umeshunni wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your job wants you to fly, it should buy you an id that lets you fly. Have you never applied for a visa to travel on a business trip?

yes, if there's one thing the working poor are known for, it's successfully extracting money from their employers. if uber wants you to rideshare, they should buy you a car, right?