On: TSA considers new system for flyers without ID

[henryfjordan]

Your right to cross state lines and travel freely does not include any right to a particular mode of transportation.

You would pretty much have to argue that interstate travel is impracticable without airplanes and that trains/buses/your feet don't suffice.

[monocasa → henryfjordan]

The fact that trains/buses/your feet doesn't suffice has already been covered in Gilmore v. Gonzales, among other similar points in the same area.

[Reelin → monocasa]

From the Wikipedia entry:

> there was no constitutional violation because air passengers could still travel without identification if they instead underwent the more stringent "secondary screening" search

I wasn't aware that I could decline to show ID at an airport security checkpoint in favor of undergoing a secondary screening. Does this actually work in practice?

(Also, I wonder how it squares with automated facial recognition and similar biometric technology?)

[monocasa → Reelin]

Yeah, I've done it. You just get your bags searched a little harder as if you had been "randomly selected for additional screening".

[njarboe → Reelin]

Yes it works. If you lose your ID or someone steals your wallet on a trip and you can still take the airplane back home before getting a new one.

[jdhn → njarboe]

So theoretically if I show up at the airport and claim that I lost my license but had proof that I purchased the tickets, what would happen? Would they just search me in more detail than they already do?

[monocasa → jdhn]

Practically it depends on who you are.

As a nerdy white programmer, I got a just a look through my luggage and a swab down for explosives.

I've heard of people getting questioned for an hour though in addition to my experience. These were all people of color.

[kube-system → jdhn]

From the article:

> 1. The TSA admits that people can and do fly without ID.

> Prior to the COVID-19 National Emergency, TSA encountered over 2.5 million passengers a day and, on average, 600 instances of passengers without acceptable ID. These individuals are able to verify their identity via telephone through our National Transportation Vetting Center (NTVC).

[Spooky23 → henryfjordan]

Exactly, you are free to walk between states.

Just keep yourself clean looking. Some towns don’t like vagrants.