The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses and identification cards.” The Act and implementing regulations establish minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibit federal agencies from accepting for certain official purposes noncompliant driver’s licenses and identification cards, both physical and digital (also known as Mobile Driver’s Licenses, or “mDLs”).

The official purposes covered by the Act and regulations are:

Accessing certain federal facilities; Boarding Federally regulated commercial aircraft; and Entering nuclear power plants.

So Real ID was designed to be good enough for people to use to enter a nuclear power plant, but apparently not reliable enough to identify someone to confirm citizenship? Sounds like some racist bullshit.