Want to Cross the Border? Bring ID

[Donk Yore]

Source: CBS/AP

(CBS/AP) New rules for the types of identification U.S. and Canadian citizens must present to cross into the country went into effect Thursday and authorities were optimistic the changes wouldn't cause significant delays.

Under the new rules, people will no longer be allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens, said Jayson Ahern, deputy commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Instead, those 19 and older will have to show proof of citizenship - a passport, trusted traveler card or a birth certificate and government-issued ID such as a driver's license.

"We'll be asking those who cross our borders to present to us secure, more reliable documents to prove citizenship and to confirm their identity," said Ahern, who is heading a national effort to call attention to the changes.

more

Read more: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsNational/~3/226647596/main3774873.shtml

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Coming soon: proof of citizenship before domestic air travel

A government issued ID, by itself, will no longer be sufficient to board an airplane. Passports, "trusted traveler" cards, birth certificate along with government-issued photo ID or similar proof of citizenship will be required to even check in for your flight.

I have very little faith that this trend will be mitigated by regime change, even if that involves a change in party.

[high density]

26. It is coming for Mainers in May

Because our state has refused to comply with the RealID requirement for drivers licenses.

[4_TN_TITANS]

2. I'm no immigrant-phobe

but presenting some kind of id isn't such a bad thing is it?

[Donk Yore]

3. I was a little shocked at

the last paragraph:

"Drivers' licenses enhanced with proof of citizenship and a radio frequency identification chip also will be accepted, Ahern added. Four states including Arizona have signed up for a federal program to offer the licenses. British Columbia also is experimenting with similar new high-tech licenses."

[noonwitch]

6. I don't have a problem showing the border guys my birth certificate

I'm relieved that I don't have to pay for a passport to go to dinner in Canada from Detroit.

But I'm not thrilled about my next driver's license having an RFI chip in it.

[pimpbot]

21. Wrap it in tin foil

Wont be a problem then.

[zonmoy]

5. perhaps we just need to think about past regimes that asked

for peoples identification papers.

[bdamomma]

8. they slowly but surely decreasing and deteriorating our rights.

"Papers please" that is enough to make me do this :puke:

our country is not recognizable no longer.

[kineneb]

22. Papiern, bitte.

Sie haben keinen Papieren? Herr Schultz, weg mit ihm.

[zonmoy]

28. don't speak it.

don't speak any of these others but they are languages of peoples that had similar regimes to what you are thinking of.

russian
chinese
spanish
italian
vietnamese

basically the insistence on having official documentation to live in a state or travel is something common to nearly all tyrannies.

[alfredo]

13. If you are a vocal critic of the government, you may find your travel

restricted. The chipped cards can be effectively turned off making you a non person. The government can make your life very difficult with the clicking on a button. Within a short time those cards will be needed for commercial and governmental transactions, not just travel.

[Lasher]

18. Why don't they just embed the chip in our hands or foreheads?

Wouldn't that be more efficient? Then I'll bet you would have to have one before you could buy or sell.

[alfredo]

23. They've already tested RFID chips embedded in people. I think prisoners

will have them embedded.

[TechBear_Seattle]

27. It used to be that Hal Lindsay style Talibangelicals had a problem with such ideas

Nowadays, they are among the groups demanding that it be put into place. The Bible does say that "many will be deceived," after all.

[Lasher]

30. If it comes down to it I wonder how many would refuse the mark.

Scarry to think about.

[WilyWondr]

4. Something I just learned about CA

They really don't want us to come there.

Persons who are inadmissible to Canada

Members of Inadmissible Classes include those who have been convicted of MINOR OFFENCES (including shoplifting, theft, assault, dangerous driving, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of illegal substances, etc.), or of INDICTABLE CRIMINAL OFFENCES (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.). As well, those who have been convicted of DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) are considered Members of an Inadmissible Class. Driving while under the influence of alcohol is regarded as an extremely serious offence in Canada.

http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/washington/visas/inadmissible-en.asp

[Lasher]

9. That's right.

I got a DUI 10 years ago, now I'll never go to Canada again. This could be tough on people whose work requires an occasional trip acorss the border, such as to a trade conference.

I wonder if Junior and Cheney are allowed into Canada. Both have DUIs. Cheney's been convicted of 2.

[Donk Yore]

10. bu..bu..but.....

they've been rehabilitated!

[NikolaC]

12. Not only allowed

but Bu$h has been here. He was not greeted very warmly. You know that there are always "special exceptions" to the rules for Bu$hco.

[Lisa]

15. you probably qualify for "deemed rehabilitation"

As a Canadian, I would be upset to think that Dick and Dubya would be allowed in here, while DUers who are far less dangerous would be excluded. One can apply at several consulates in the US (Buffalo, NY, Detroit, Seattle, LA -- possibly others?)
http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/minneapolis/right_nav/admissibility1-en.asp


Another website explains. Actually I don't think Bush qualifies -- since when has he ever shown remorse for anything? And are there any reputable people who would be willing to write letters for him?

"According to a “rehab check list” compiled by the Canadian law firm of Larson, Bryson & Boulton, the Canadian government considers several factors when determining whether a person wanting entry to Canada has truly rehabilitated themselves from their criminal offense and deserves entry, including: acceptance of responsibility for the offense; evidence of remorse; evidence of a change in lifestyle; and, evidence of stability in employment and family life."
http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/consequences/bush-dui.htm

"THREE LETTERS FROM PERSONS OF STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY who know the applicant personally, and who can attest to the applicant's rehabilitation."
http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/consequences/persons-who-are-inadmissible-to-canada.htm

[Lasher]

17. Thanks for taking the time to share that, Lisa.

But I have already been through this same thought process and have decided if Canada doesn't want me to be there, I don't want to be in Canada. Nothing personal against Canadian folks like you, who I have found to be a friendly and likable lot. But there is this annoying prohibition by your government and this is my reaction.

Too bad, I would have liked to have someday gone back to Banff, Lake Louise, and Le Château Montebello. But life goes on.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. This is surprising, considering Fri nite traffic

Canada's (or Ontario's) drinking age is a little less than Michigan's. So on Friday / Saturday evenings, there's quite a line of cars heading for the bridge or tunnel. Perhaps every one of those vehicles has a designated driver, eh?

:party:

[CHIMO]

25. Well

I would like to say that in Canada they are not considered minor offenses.

[snooper2]

7. Good...

nt

[NikolaC]

11. It Has Been That Way

for a while now. While I still maintain an address in Virginia, my husband, son and I currently live in Ontario and travel to Virginia quite frequently. We were going to complete the move back to VA in June, but are reconsidering. We are ALWAYS asked our citizenship and for ID when we cross the border. Maybe we were just "lucky" ;). It still amazes me at times since we used to be able to travel, at will, pre-Bu$h.

Edited to add: There is also Nexxus. You fill out and application, they do a thorough background check on you and you can travel through a special line at the border, no wait. I don't know if the new regulations would change anything.

[Lasher]

14. When you go through the border do they always look you up?

Or do they just ask you if you have any such violations on your record?

[NikolaC]

31. Most Times They Look Us Up

Not always though. They also take a snapshot of your license plate when you drive through.

[Lasher]

33. Thank you. n/t

[Lisa]

16. I'm thinking of getting a Nexxus card ...

They do a retinal scan. I'm curious to see how that works. Also, the price has come down to $50 for a 5-year card.

[NikolaC]

32. Yeah, We Were Considering It

It seems a little big brotherish, but what isn't these days? For the sake of convenience we might do it.

[Lisa]

34. the other thing is, I actually want them to do a security check on me

Here's the story. One of my cousins was applying for a government job that required a low-level screening (she would be reviewing technical patents or something, and they were worried about industrial espionage I guess). Well, her supervisor told her that her file had been red-flagged as a risk! Now she has never been in trouble with the law in her life, so she had to go through a Freedom of Information request to figure out what was going on.

She did eventually see her security file, and it was all messed up. They had completely inaccurate information -- they'd somehow mixed her up with her mom, who is Japanese-Canadian and was interned during WWII. Our whole family was shocked, because we'd thought that what with the official government apology to us in the early 1980s, plus the payment of compensation, we'd assumed that our records were wiped clean.

I don't know who's in charge of reviewing these files, but I'd have thought that it was obvious -- someone who was born in the 1960s could not possibly have been rounded up and interned as a security risk in 1942!

So I'm wondering if there's a file on me, and whether it's just as erroneous. The Nexxus screening might turn this up -- without my having to file an FOI request.

[khaos]

19. incremental.. the peasants won't even notice

[Pavulon]

24. I dont get the problem

Leave the US take a passport. It takes about 3 weeks and $98 to get one..

[JeanGrey]

29. GOOD. It's past time. Canada is, after all, another country.

We should have started tightening up our borders LONG ago. And much more is needed.

[Lisa]

35. oh, by the way -- the US government has been complaining about lax border security for some time

So ... some of the pressure on Canada to turn back visitors who have criminal records is coming from America itself. Even before Dubya's reign, there were complaints that Canada was letting everybody in, and that this was giving criminals easy access to the States. Now, short of implementing a policy that restricted access from everywhere but the US (in which case other countries would complain about discrimination), it would be difficult to comply with the requests from D.C. that we tighten our security. I believe that some of this began during Reagan's War on Drugs (and possibly even earlier, with Cold War espionage and Vietnam era war resisters).

I am truly sorry that many Americans are legally restricted from entering our country (and earlier posters mentioned that they will not be visiting us on principle, even if they themselves could get personal exemptions). Personally I took great pride in two nations sharing a border that was relatively open.