On August 19, 2025, three months after the Department of Homeland Security began enforcing the new REAL ID requirements for domestic air travel, I found myself in a long, serpentine security line at Newark Liberty International Airport, bound for Chicago. Earlier in the year, I’d renewed my driver’s license and opted for a New York Enhanced ID — a REAL ID-compliant license with the added perk of letting me cross into Canada or Mexico without a passport.