This is way over due. It has been our achilles heel in shoring up the United States against terrorism incursions (and this is written by someone who lives 15 minutes from the U.S.-Tijuana border):
WASHINGTON – Americans will be required to show U.S. passports when they re-enter the United States from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean by 2008 under proposed new rules announced Tuesday by the State and Homeland Security departments.
The new policy, which would be phased in by 2008 and is designed to thwart terrorists from exploiting the relative ease of travel in North America, means that Americans who lack U.S. passports would have to obtain them to travel between the United States and neighboring nations. It also will require Mexicans and Canadians to present passports or another official document to enter this country, with details to be determined.
The regulations mark a dramatic shift from a policy that allows Americans to return home from neighboring countries without a passport.
Once the new system takes effect, people entering the United States from Mexico will continue to be able to use a border crossing card or SENTRI card instead of passports. These cards are obtained after background checks and other security measures.
More than 48 million people entered the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in 2004, and more than 14 million came through the nearby Otay Mesa Port of Entry — which were record highs for the two passages linking San Diego and Tijuana.
Charles Showalter, president of the National Homeland Security Council, a union representing 22,000 federal employees including inspectors at the ports of entry, said the new requirement would probably have little impact on wait times at borders. Inspectors already examine documents at border crossings, he said.
Since the 2001 terror attacks, many U.S. citizens have been advised by immigration attorneys and travel agents to travel with passports.
“I always advise my clients to use a passport when traveling to Mexico or Canada,” said Paula Quon, owner of a San Francisco travel agency and Northern California chapter president of the American Society of Travel Agents. “For security reasons, it’s easier to get in and out” with a passport, she said.
The changes were mandated by the intelligence-reform law approved in December and have been expected for months.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said U.S. officials have been working with their international counterparts “for some time” to shore up security measures without crimping the flow of commerce across borders.
“There’s a very strong awareness that these are tremendous commercial borders and that you don’t want to hinder the commercial activity,” Rice said in an interview with the Associated Press. “But at the same time, you’ve got to have some controls that help you prevent people who are trying to come in and hurt us.”
Precisely. In fact the only question is: isn’t it dangerous to wait until 2008? Can this be done sooner?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.