Border crossings tightening soon: Will you be ready?
June 15, 2006
Congressionally mandated changes in border crossing procedures are rolling on a fast track, with no spurs or sidings in sight.
Federal officials heeded the call of the Border Trade Alliance, Wednesday, traveling to Del Rio to brief regional civic leaders, business owners, bankers, tourism advocates, and local government officials on new restrictions for international travelers.
Their message was clear. Americans should get prepared to comply with regulations requiring passports or an equivalent authorized document to get back into their home country once they leave it for any reason or duration of time.
More than 60 representatives from both sides of the border filled the new ballroom at Ramada Inn, all keenly interested in hearing – and sharing misgivings – about federal border-crossing regulations. Up for discussion were recent procedures and others yet to be implemented by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security.
Maria Luisa O’Connell, president of the Border Trade Alliance, Phoenix, Ariz., organized the meeting along the lines of previous sessions in affected cities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Both the agenda and O’Connell’s rhetoric reflect BTA’s concerns about the impacts of recent legislation on border economies, environment and social structure. BTA leadership call their group “a grassroots, non-profit organization that serves as a forum for participants to address key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America.”
O’Connell introduced two out-of-town experts on the twin issues of pending passport requirements for U.S. citizens, and evolving technologies facilitating travel of visitors from other countries.
Jacqueline Harley-Bell, regional director of the Houston Passport Agency, U.S. Department of State, said the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, an outgrowth of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, is on schedule for implementation, Jan. 1, 2008.
By then, all U.S. citizens, regardless of age, must have a passport, or other official documentation proving their citizenship, to leave this country with any expectation of returning.
A P.A.S.S. – People Access Standardization and Security – card, Harley-Bell explained, is to be ready as a substitute for passport use, but only at land-based ports-of-entry, by the end of 2007. Production of the new credit card-sized, high-tech P.A.S.S. cards should be completed by the end of 2006.
Harley-Bell estimated that 13-15 million passports will also be ordered and produced this year, partially in response to the coming regulation implementation. She expects that number to jump to 17-20 million in 2007, in advance of the Jan. 1, 2008 deadline.
Furthermore, Harley-Bell expects the nation’s 7,500 “Passport Acceptance Facilities” (post offices, libraries and universities where passport paperwork may be initiated) to be swamped. So she encourages obtaining on-line applications at www.usps.com/passport.
Harley-Bell is often asked why a valid state driver’s license cannot be used for border-crossing identification. “A U.S. passport is the most valuable document in the world,” Harley-Bell replied, in particular because it has so many uses when proof of citizenship is at stake.
“Delegation of this responsibility to local motor vehicle agencies is just not a viable option,” Harley-Bell explained.
Current waiting times for a passport – from application to receipt – is a four- to six-week process, Harley-Bell said, at a cost of $97. For an additional $60, the process is completed within three days, “if everything that has been presented to us is in order,” she added.
Harley-Bell said costs to purchasers of the touted P.A.S.S. card are unknown, but Thursday she told LIVE! the card would be considerably less expensive than a traditional passport.
An audience member inquired what procedures are in place for teenagers who cross to party in Acuña without a passport of P.A.S.S. card, and can’t get back through the U.S. Port of Entry. Harley-Bell quipped that a few calls at 2:30 a.m. to parents to retrieve their children might slow that problem.
The audience member replied that, with some of such students, their parents live in Michigan. Harley-Bell said, “Right now, we just don’t know what will happen.”
P.T. Wright Jr., director of US-VISIT Mission Operations, Department of Homeland Security, Arlington, Va., stressed the importance of preparedness for American citizen ingress to the country with a passport or P.A.S.S. card, beginning on the first day of 2008.
Wright said one of the documents will be mandatory then, “until there is a legislative correction made,” Wright said, holding out little hope for such a reversal. He emphasized that the new regulation will not affect Mexican citizens, adding that those holding international passports and a United States visa will be granted entry, as they now are.
The US-VISIT – United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology – program, being tested now at five ports of entry to the United States, is working smoothly, according to Wright. Wright said the program has “raised security and reduced waiting times for foreign nationals from 11 minutes to two.”
Del Rio Port Director Mike Perez explained Thursday that a radio frequency (RF) identification card is not yet used here for US-VISIT, but rather a “biometric footprint – fingerprint and photo – and history of your arrival” is recorded, allowing the visitor to travel up to 30 miles into the United States.
“It tells us who you are, where you’re from and a lot of other information that is embedded into the bar code on the Border Crossing Card, all of which is machine-readable,” explained Perez. With all the records and checks built into the US-VISIT system, Perez said, “If you’re not who you say you are, we’re going to know it.”
When the RF card is put into use here, Perez explained, officials will not only know who has come into the United States, but when they leave – or fail to within prescribed time limits.
Wright praised BTA for its approach to border issues, saying the organization’s thrusts do not comprise a partisan or political agenda, but rather a registration of concerns to many “border stakeholders.”
Jerry Simpton, president of The Bank & Trust, Del Rio, opined that design of the new port-of-entry, slated for construction in Del Rio soon, may be inadequate, considering the number of lanes needed to implement regulations slowing traffic flow through the POE.
“Currently we have four inspection lanes, and we will have eight, with four in reserve. If everyone crossing has to have documents checked --- passports or PASS cards for U.S. citizens and US VISIT checks for foreign nationals – crossings are going to be much slower, and more lanes will be needed,” said Simpton.
Perez said Thursday that recent traffic surveys did not support having even eight developed lanes. “We’ll actually have six lanes, expandable to eight,” Perez said, expressing confidence that the new border crossing identification technologies will expedite entry, rather than exacerbate the conditions.
But O’Connell told the BTA audience that her organization had pointed out the apparent design deficiency to the General Services Administration, the federal agency designing and constructing Del Rio’s new POE. O’Connell said GSA representatives told US-VISIT officials to not be concerned about such a problem.
Moreover, O’Connell said, Congress passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements without authorizing appropriations to cover costs of equipment to assess the machine-readable P.A.S.S. cards.
Superintendent Alan Cox, Amistad National Recreation Area, identified another problem with pending requirements for more personal documentation.
Citing 1.5 million visitors to Lake Amistad annually, and ingress/egress on the lake at 17 boat ramp locations, Cox believes the new regulations may discourage rising enthusiasm for tournament fishing there.
Cox said tournament organizers and participants may show declining interest in coming to the area if participation means having to obtain a passport or P.A.S.S. card in the event of crossing the international boundary which splits the lake along the channel of the Rio Grande.
“And, by the way, these visitors drop about $40 million into Del Rio’s economy each year, too,” said Cox.
Harley-Bell replied, “It’s a challenge,” having no further answer to the wrinkle raised by Cox.
Najla Weathersbee, owner/manager of American Passenger Travel, Del Rio, said Thursday, “It [the BTA regional meeting] was informative, and I was delighted to see that happen.
To the seminar organizers and speakers, Weathersbee said, “I want to compliment you on the fact that this [Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative] has finally passed,” adding that the identification documents prescribed provide a much easier way of moving people around, from country to country, as is practiced around the world.
By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer
P.T. Wright Jr., right, director of the US-VISIT program of the Department of Homeland Security, described how biometric documentations of foreign nationals entering this country are aiding security and facilitating cross-border travel. Maria Luisa O’Connell, president of Border Trade Alliance, Phoenix, Ariz., organized Wednesday’s meeting. More about BTA may be seen at www.thebta.org. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag)
(click image to enlarge)Federal officials heeded the call of the Border Trade Alliance, Wednesday, traveling to Del Rio to brief regional civic leaders, business owners, bankers, tourism advocates, and local government officials on new restrictions for international travelers.
Their message was clear. Americans should get prepared to comply with regulations requiring passports or an equivalent authorized document to get back into their home country once they leave it for any reason or duration of time.
More than 60 representatives from both sides of the border filled the new ballroom at Ramada Inn, all keenly interested in hearing – and sharing misgivings – about federal border-crossing regulations. Up for discussion were recent procedures and others yet to be implemented by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security.
Maria Luisa O’Connell, president of the Border Trade Alliance, Phoenix, Ariz., organized the meeting along the lines of previous sessions in affected cities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Both the agenda and O’Connell’s rhetoric reflect BTA’s concerns about the impacts of recent legislation on border economies, environment and social structure. BTA leadership call their group “a grassroots, non-profit organization that serves as a forum for participants to address key issues affecting trade and economic development in North America.”
O’Connell introduced two out-of-town experts on the twin issues of pending passport requirements for U.S. citizens, and evolving technologies facilitating travel of visitors from other countries.
Jacqueline Harley-Bell, regional director of the Houston Passport Agency, U.S. Department of State, said the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, an outgrowth of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, is on schedule for implementation, Jan. 1, 2008.
By then, all U.S. citizens, regardless of age, must have a passport, or other official documentation proving their citizenship, to leave this country with any expectation of returning.
A P.A.S.S. – People Access Standardization and Security – card, Harley-Bell explained, is to be ready as a substitute for passport use, but only at land-based ports-of-entry, by the end of 2007. Production of the new credit card-sized, high-tech P.A.S.S. cards should be completed by the end of 2006.
Harley-Bell estimated that 13-15 million passports will also be ordered and produced this year, partially in response to the coming regulation implementation. She expects that number to jump to 17-20 million in 2007, in advance of the Jan. 1, 2008 deadline.
Furthermore, Harley-Bell expects the nation’s 7,500 “Passport Acceptance Facilities” (post offices, libraries and universities where passport paperwork may be initiated) to be swamped. So she encourages obtaining on-line applications at www.usps.com/passport.
Harley-Bell is often asked why a valid state driver’s license cannot be used for border-crossing identification. “A U.S. passport is the most valuable document in the world,” Harley-Bell replied, in particular because it has so many uses when proof of citizenship is at stake.
“Delegation of this responsibility to local motor vehicle agencies is just not a viable option,” Harley-Bell explained.
Current waiting times for a passport – from application to receipt – is a four- to six-week process, Harley-Bell said, at a cost of $97. For an additional $60, the process is completed within three days, “if everything that has been presented to us is in order,” she added.
Harley-Bell said costs to purchasers of the touted P.A.S.S. card are unknown, but Thursday she told LIVE! the card would be considerably less expensive than a traditional passport.
An audience member inquired what procedures are in place for teenagers who cross to party in Acuña without a passport of P.A.S.S. card, and can’t get back through the U.S. Port of Entry. Harley-Bell quipped that a few calls at 2:30 a.m. to parents to retrieve their children might slow that problem.
The audience member replied that, with some of such students, their parents live in Michigan. Harley-Bell said, “Right now, we just don’t know what will happen.”
P.T. Wright Jr., director of US-VISIT Mission Operations, Department of Homeland Security, Arlington, Va., stressed the importance of preparedness for American citizen ingress to the country with a passport or P.A.S.S. card, beginning on the first day of 2008.
Wright said one of the documents will be mandatory then, “until there is a legislative correction made,” Wright said, holding out little hope for such a reversal. He emphasized that the new regulation will not affect Mexican citizens, adding that those holding international passports and a United States visa will be granted entry, as they now are.
The US-VISIT – United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology – program, being tested now at five ports of entry to the United States, is working smoothly, according to Wright. Wright said the program has “raised security and reduced waiting times for foreign nationals from 11 minutes to two.”
Del Rio Port Director Mike Perez explained Thursday that a radio frequency (RF) identification card is not yet used here for US-VISIT, but rather a “biometric footprint – fingerprint and photo – and history of your arrival” is recorded, allowing the visitor to travel up to 30 miles into the United States.
“It tells us who you are, where you’re from and a lot of other information that is embedded into the bar code on the Border Crossing Card, all of which is machine-readable,” explained Perez. With all the records and checks built into the US-VISIT system, Perez said, “If you’re not who you say you are, we’re going to know it.”
When the RF card is put into use here, Perez explained, officials will not only know who has come into the United States, but when they leave – or fail to within prescribed time limits.
Wright praised BTA for its approach to border issues, saying the organization’s thrusts do not comprise a partisan or political agenda, but rather a registration of concerns to many “border stakeholders.”
Jerry Simpton, president of The Bank & Trust, Del Rio, opined that design of the new port-of-entry, slated for construction in Del Rio soon, may be inadequate, considering the number of lanes needed to implement regulations slowing traffic flow through the POE.
“Currently we have four inspection lanes, and we will have eight, with four in reserve. If everyone crossing has to have documents checked --- passports or PASS cards for U.S. citizens and US VISIT checks for foreign nationals – crossings are going to be much slower, and more lanes will be needed,” said Simpton.
Perez said Thursday that recent traffic surveys did not support having even eight developed lanes. “We’ll actually have six lanes, expandable to eight,” Perez said, expressing confidence that the new border crossing identification technologies will expedite entry, rather than exacerbate the conditions.
But O’Connell told the BTA audience that her organization had pointed out the apparent design deficiency to the General Services Administration, the federal agency designing and constructing Del Rio’s new POE. O’Connell said GSA representatives told US-VISIT officials to not be concerned about such a problem.
Moreover, O’Connell said, Congress passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements without authorizing appropriations to cover costs of equipment to assess the machine-readable P.A.S.S. cards.
Superintendent Alan Cox, Amistad National Recreation Area, identified another problem with pending requirements for more personal documentation.
Citing 1.5 million visitors to Lake Amistad annually, and ingress/egress on the lake at 17 boat ramp locations, Cox believes the new regulations may discourage rising enthusiasm for tournament fishing there.
Cox said tournament organizers and participants may show declining interest in coming to the area if participation means having to obtain a passport or P.A.S.S. card in the event of crossing the international boundary which splits the lake along the channel of the Rio Grande.
“And, by the way, these visitors drop about $40 million into Del Rio’s economy each year, too,” said Cox.
Harley-Bell replied, “It’s a challenge,” having no further answer to the wrinkle raised by Cox.
Najla Weathersbee, owner/manager of American Passenger Travel, Del Rio, said Thursday, “It [the BTA regional meeting] was informative, and I was delighted to see that happen.
To the seminar organizers and speakers, Weathersbee said, “I want to compliment you on the fact that this [Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative] has finally passed,” adding that the identification documents prescribed provide a much easier way of moving people around, from country to country, as is practiced around the world.
Questions or comments? Contact Bill Sontag directly.
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European's have always
European's have always carried their passport from one country to the next...Time has changed and us american will need to get on with the program....We now live in a different world and must change with the times....
Wow, they do that in Europe?
Wow, they do that in Europe? Wow, and we can really be just like them? Well that makes it alright, now, doesn't it? That's what the US has been striving to accomplish for the last two centuries, to become just like the Europeans? Imagine that!
You can't walk out your back door without crossing somebodys boarder in Europe. That is a whole different political/geographical/economic situation over there compared to the USA. And trying to compare us to them is ludicrous. Actually, trying to compare us to any other country in the world is dumb. We are unique in the world. It's too bad that some of you folks want to homogenize our country/culture with the rest of the world. How boring an existence that would be!
--
The Seabat
Mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence!
Did I miss something? This
Did I miss something?
This new documentation program for crossing back and forth across the boarder only pertains to Americans? What is being required for folks of other countries? Sounds like nothing more than is being done now.
This is nothing more than end-run to try and implement a national ID card system and of course, revenue generation. All under the scare tatic of "Homeland Security"! This is going to stop terrorists?? Exactly how many terrorists have crossed the boarder here at Acuna/Del rio?? How many have crossed at any Mexican/US boarder point?
Apparently we can freely leave the US, but we have to pay a fee/tarriff and subject ourselves to government scrutiny into our private lives to get back in? "Comrad, show me your papers!"
All this is going to accomplish is to harrass American citizens and give some bureucrates job security. Without sounding to paranoid, I believe the government is trying to accomplish by fear and misinformation what it could have never have succeeded in doing by legitimate legislation by a vote of the people.
I'll close with a statement from Benjamin Franklin, paraphrased, 'Those who are willing to give up a little freedom, for a little security, deserve neither.
Thanks, Bill, for great
Thanks, Bill, for great coverage of our BTA Regional Conference.