U.S. postpones passport requirement at border
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 | 7:59 PM ET
Canadians and Americans entering the United States by car or boat won't need a passport until at least the summer of 2008, security officials said Wednesday, a reprieve critics deemed far too short.
With both sides of the border buried under an avalanche of passport applications, driver's licences and birth certificates will suffice for several months starting Jan. 31.
Even so, U.S. legislators and Canadian critics of the security plan were quick to insist on a longer delay, until June 2009, to cut the confusion and reduce damage to trade and tourism.
Having a precise date is critical, they said.
American officials maintained until days ago that they would stick to their original plan, which required passports at land and sea crossings at the beginning of 2008. But it's been clear for some time that would be impossible.
"We're not going to drop the axe on Jan. 1, 2008," U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
"We've worked closely with our Canadian colleagues. And we've come to understand that it's important to build flexibility in our systems," Chertoff told a news conference.
He praised high-technology driver's licences as potential alternatives one day, a move Canada supports.
Critical tool
But it would be dangerous to substantially delay requiring passports, he said, because it's a critical tool in reducing bogus documents and keeping terrorists out of the United States.
Those who don't believe that are "playing with fire," said Chertoff, who cited the arrest of alleged terror cell members in Canada last year as proof they're active north of the border.
Even Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta lawyer with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, knew to enter the United States via Canada to remain undetected, he said.
Passports will be required at an unspecified later date, probably next summer, depending on the availability on both sides of the border.
"Excuses and interminable delay will ring very hollow in a year or two if it turns out there's an attack and somebody's come through using phoney identification because we didn't get this done," Chertoff said.
In Ottawa, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins said concerns about the plan in Canada "have been heard loud and clear in Washington."
But Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day encouraged Canadians to get a passport anyway, saying it's "a smart thing to do."
Second postponement in a month
It's the second time this month U.S. officials have put off plans to require a passport from everyone entering the United States from Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Last week, Chertoff was forced to announce a break until the end of September for American air travellers.
And there has been a lot of leniency for the small number of Canadian flyers who don't have them.
While requiring passports of air travellers since Jan. 23 has caused enough problems, the second phase of the security plan is expected to generate a much bigger onslaught of applications.
And many don't see how the U.S. system can possibly handle them.
"Today's huge passport backlogs," said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, "are just a taste of the chaos that's likely next summer."
Homeland Security, he said, is behaving "like a skydiver who jumps first and tries to pack his parachute on the way down."
The "ambitious rush," said New York Representative Louise Slaughter, "is not grounded in reality."
U.S. Congress balks
The House of Representatives has already passed a measure forcing Chertoff to wait until mid-2009 at land and sea crossings. The Senate will take it up this summer.
Legislators want him to first investigate whether enhanced driver's licences could serve just as well as passports, while studying the economic impact of the whole security plan.
Critics say it just doesn't make sense to proceed until officials analyze the results of a pilot project using enhanced licences at crossings between British Columbia and Washington state.
They also want to make sure the United States is ready to roll out a cheaper passport alternative for Americans, known as a pass card. Canada has no plans to develop a similar card.
"June 2009 is the better date," said Len Crispino, president of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. "Every day there seems to be a new twist. Confusion leads to uncertainty and, bottom line, who gets hurt is business."
Exact date important to travellers
Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry of America, said an exact date is important to casual leisure travel across the border.
Security officials insisted almost right up until the delay was announced that they'd proceed as planned Jan. 1.
But a senior State Department official, hauled on the carpet by angry senators over months-long delays in getting passports, signalled Tuesday there would be some flexibility.
Starting Jan. 31, oral declarations of citizenship will no longer be accepted at the Canada-U.S. border.
Adults will require both government-issued photo identification and proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.
Children 15 and younger will need certified copies of their birth certificates. And teens aged 16 through 18 under adult supervision will also be able to use those if they're travelling with school or social groups and sports teams.
