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JUST ASKING... What happened to REAL ID Act?

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reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Whatever happened to American Samoa being in compliance with the federal REAL ID Act? Have the feds given the government an extension and if so, when does the extension expire?

Samoa News replies:

Although we had reported in October last year that the US Department of Homeland Security has given American Samoa until Oct. 10, 2019 to comply with the REAL ID Act, there are still many — both locally and off-island — inquiring about the issue.

The REAL ID page of the USDHS website provides confirmation that American Samoa has been granted the extension. The same page also provides specific details pertaining to this law, including other States given the extension, and the time frame for compliance.

For American Samoa, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga had sought — and was granted — the extension until Oct. 10, 2019, according to a Aug. 31, 2018 letter from USDHS Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy, Elizabeth Neumann. (The letter was recently received by Samoa News.)

“During the duration of the extension, federal agencies may accept American Samoa-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards for official purposes,” wrote Neumann, who stressed the “importance of American Samoa using the additional time to satisfy any unmet requirements."

The governor was also informed, that the final REAL ID enforcement deadline is Oct. 1, 2020. Samoa News notes that this same information was made public last year by USDHS.

According to Neumann, the US Secretary of Homeland Security is committed to enforcing the REAL ID Act in accordance with the phased-enforcement schedule and regulatory timeframes.

“Therefore, the sooner American Samoa becomes compliant, the more time its eligible residents will have to acquire a compliant license or identification card before the October 2020 deadline,” she explained, adding that American Samoa — along with all other noncompliant jurisdictions with an extension — will need to participate in quarterly reviews with USDHS “to demonstrate its progress in implementing any remaining REAL ID requirements”.

“Failure to demonstrate continued progress in these reviews could result in the revocation of your extension and subject American Samoa residents to federal enforcement of the REAL ID Act and regulation,” she said.

(As of yesterday morning, American Samoa’s extension remains in place, according to the USDHS website.)

“If revocation occurs, your residents would need to have an alternative acceptable ID, where identification is required, to access federal facilities, including military bases and boarding commercial aircrafts,” she said, noting that a full list of identification documents accepted by the US Transportation Security Administration at airport security checkpoints can be found at [www.tsa.gov].

Samoa News points out that a passport or Certificate of Identity (CI) are still a requirement for passengers boarding Hawaiian Airlines’ flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago.

On Oct. 8, 2018, the governor signed into law, an Administration bill approved by the Fono, that amends local law by creating the American Samoa REAL ID Act, which complies with the federal REAL ID Act, which has been in place for more than a decade.

“Currently, American Samoa is working to come into compliance with the federal REAL ID requirements,” Lolo wrote to Fono leaders when he signed the bill into law. “With this new law in place, the Department of Public Safety can work to ensure our timely compliance with federal law.”

The new law provides major changes to current statute for issuing driver’s licenses, and a new provision that would allow a “driving privilege card” to be issued. It also transfers issuance of American Samoa identification cards from the Office of Vital Statistics to DPS Office of Motor Vehicles, through the Police Commissioner.