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 News from Around the Americas | February 2008 
Border Traffic Moves Well in First Days of New Rule for Americans’ Re-entry
 Julia Preston - NYTimes
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| | Across the 1,900-mile border with Mexico, inspectors applied the new measures gently. | | |
El Paso — A lot of Americans grumbled, but there were no major delays or disruptions at this bustling border station in the last two days as United States citizens were required for the first time to show a passport or other identity documents to return to the country by land.
Across the 1,900-mile border with Mexico, inspectors applied the new measures gently. Americans who did not have the proper documents underwent additional questioning and were given a written reminder of the requirements, but were not turned away, border officials said.
The smooth start of the new requirements, which took effect Thursday and also apply to citizens returning by sea, was a success for officials of the Department of Homeland Security, who had faced demands in recent weeks from lawmakers and businesses in border states that the Jan. 31 deadline be postponed.
The requirements brought an end to an era when Americans could return to their country across land borders simply by declaring they were citizens. They also brought a cultural shift for residents in border cities like El Paso and its twin, Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, metropolises so intertwined that they only reluctantly acknowledge the international dividing line between them.
Now American citizens over 19 years old must show either a United States passport or a combination of documents like a birth certificate and a driver’s license. The requirements, which stem from antiterrorism legislation adopted by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, also affect Canadians coming to the United States.
Congress delayed until June 2009 requirements that all travelers have passports. Travelers entering the United States by air have been required to show passports or other secure documents since January 2007.
At the Bridge of the Americas, the El Paso vehicle crossing where even on a good day thousands of cars jostle for position in half-hour-long lines, sporadic delays occurred Thursday and Friday, but officers alleviated them by shifting staff or speeding inspections.
“There were no real changes in the way we do business here, and no wait times increased” at any of El Paso’s bridges, said Art Gonzales, acting El Paso port director for Customs and Border Protection.
Returning Americans seemed to know the new procedures that awaited them and were resigned to comply. John Smith, a 52-year-old veteran who lives in Ciudad Juárez, presented his birth certificate and a Texas state identification card when he came on foot Thursday afternoon across the Paso del Norte bridge. Mr. Smith said he had seen television announcements for months about the change, and so was prepared.
But he was not happy. Since birth certificates are paper documents that cannot be scanned electronically, Mr. Smith, who comes to El Paso several times a week, said he expected to be pulled aside for questioning more frequently.
“It gets irritating,” Mr. Smith said.
At the San Ysidro border station south of San Diego, Bob Haskell, an American who lives in Ensenada, Mexico, said he had sent off his passport for renewal because it was dog-eared from constant use. He came instead with a sheaf of identity documents, including a birth certificate. He passed through after extra questioning by border agents.
“They have to be relaxed about it,” Mr. Haskell said. “If they weren’t, there would be serious repercussions, the lines would go so far back. Businesses would falter due to their employees not getting to work.”
Two Americans crossing Thursday at San Ysidro who were surprised without passports were James Camrey and Tyler Winslow, both former marines who said they had partied until dawn in Tijuana. Bleary-eyed, they were sharply questioned by border agents but allowed through.
“I’m a citizen, and I get stopped and have to answer all these questions,” Mr. Winslow said. “I served my country. They have no right to question me like that.”
Last summer, when border agents began to intensify scrutiny of both American citizens and foreigners, lines on the Mexican and the Canadian borders swelled to three hours or more. Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, said Friday that he remained concerned the new measures would discourage Canadian visitors.
“I think we are putting out a sign to our Canadian neighbors that says ‘Do not enter,’ ” Mr. Sanders said. He said Customs and Border Protection needed to add many officers to handle the new measures.
In the 2007 fiscal year, 70,346,280 travelers crossed the Canadian border into the United States and 224,101,128 came by land from Mexico, according to official figures. At a hearing here on Jan. 3, Thomas S. Winkowski, assistant commissioner of the border agency, said many of its border bridges and checkpoints, aging and not set up for new security technologies, had been stretched “well beyond what they were ever designed to handle.”
Will Carless contributed reporting from San Ysidro, Calif. |
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