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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S.
Department of State announced today the
official requirement for citizens of the
United States, Canada, Mexico, and
Bermuda to present a passport to enter
the United States when arriving by air
from any part of the Western Hemisphere
beginning January 23, 2007.
“The
ability to misuse travel documents to
enter this country opens the door for a
terrorist to carry out an attack. We
can not continue to allow loopholes that
could facilitate access to the United
States through false claims of
citizenship or fake identities,” said
DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. “This
initiative strengthens our border
security by designating verifiable
secure documents that may be used at our
air ports of entry.”
The
travel document requirements make up the
departments of State and Homeland
Security’s Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI). This change in travel
document requirements is the result of
recommendations made by the 9/11
Commission, which Congress subsequently
passed into law in the Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004. The Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative requires all citizens of the
United States, Canada, Mexico, and
Bermuda to have a passport or other
accepted document that establishes the
bearer’s identity and nationality to
enter or re‑enter the United States from
within the Western Hemisphere.
By
limiting the types of documents
presented will result in a more
efficient border. There are more than
8,000 different state and local entities
in the United States, which issue birth
certificates and driver’s licenses.
Currently, a CBP officer needs to assess
the authenticity of each birth
certificate and license, regardless of
when or where it was issued. The
challenge at the borders is how to
assess individual travelers, based on
the documents they present, without
significantly slowing the processing
time for admission into the United
States.
CBP
officers intercepted more than 75,000
fraudulent documents in fiscal year 2005
and apprehended more than 84,000
individuals at the ports of entry trying
to cross the border with fraudulent
claims of citizenship or documents.
The only
acceptable alternative documents to a
passport for air travel will be the
Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) and the
NEXUS Air card. The MMD or “z‑card” is
issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to U.S.
merchant mariners and the NEXUS Air card
is issued to citizens of Canada and the
United States, lawful permanent
residents of the United States and
permanent residents of Canada who meet
certain eligibility requirements. The
NEXUS Air card may only be accepted when
used in conjunction with the NEXUS Air
program. The MMD card may only be
accepted when used on official business
by U.S. Citizen Merchant Mariners.
Members of the United States military,
when traveling on official orders, may
continue to present their military ID
and orders for entry.
A
separate proposed rule addressing land
and sea travel will be published at a
later date proposing specific
requirements for travelers entering the
United States through land and sea
border crossings. As early as January
1, 2008, U.S. citizens traveling between
the United States and Canada, Mexico,
Central and South America, the
Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea
will be required to present a valid U.S.
passport or other documents as
determined by the Department of Homeland
Security. While recent legislative
changes permit a later deadline, the
departments of State and Homeland
Security are working to meet all
requirements as soon as possible. Ample
advance notice will be provided to
enable the public to obtain acceptable
documents for land and sea entries.
Those
wishing to view the final rule may visit
www.dhs.gov or
travel.state.gov. The rule will be
published in the Federal Register on
Friday, November 24, 2006, where it can
be viewed at
www.regulations.gov.
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