U.S. delays enforcing tougher ID requirements until October 2021

The U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) on Wednesday said it would delay enforcement of rules requiring Americans to get new identification cards in order to board airplanes or enter a federal building by another 12 month.

The department said in a statement it was extending the "REAL ID" deadline until October 2021. In January, DHS said U.S. states had issued more than 95 million compliant licenses and ID cards -- only one-third of 276 million total U.S. cards. Congress in 2005 approved federal standards for issuing identification cards but enforcement has been repeatedly delayed.