SMILE FOR THE CAMERA – Published January 2006 – Western Outoor News
If you think you hated that photo on your driver’s license or COSTCO card, get ready to take a few more shots or your goofy smile. Travel is taking another dramatic change that will affect not just those of us schoosing back and forth to Baja but all American travelers in general.
Pursuant to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the Bureau of Consular Affairs has announced that by January 1, 2008,” ALL TRAVELERS to-and-from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. “ Yes, that means, you and me and Pepe too. Basically, if you’ve been putting off getting a passport, you might as well start looking into it. It means that you’ll no longer be able to use your certified birth certificate or other documents when you go back and forth in and out of U.S. home turf after December 31, 2007.
“This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement, “ according to the official press release.
“The goal is to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors.”
In order to implement the plan, the government kicks it off in several stages. The most vital for tourists to Mexico in general and Baja travelers in particular (aka us fishing guys) is the first stage making this the last year we’ll be able to fly without a passport:
December 31, 2006 – Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
December 31, 2007 – Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.
The second phase, set to commence New Year’s Eve of 2007, is especially notable insofar as the dispositive words are land border crossings. It will be interesting to see how this is implemented. If you’ve ever seen the mass of humanity that crosses the border legitimately by both American and Mexicans for work, shopping, visits to family or even a quick weekend bender in Tijuana or Ensenada, it’s eye-brow raising.
What happens to the Tijuana residents who simply walk across the border for a day of hitting the outlet mall on the northern side of the fence? Ever seen how many folks walk across the border at Christmas time? And economically, what’s the impact upon the thousands of U.S. merchants who’s livelihoods depend on Mexico’s point-of-sale spending? Mexico is one of the U.S.’s largest trade partners and a lot of that goes back and forth across the border daily.
Finally, from a more pragmatic perspective, how many border agents will be needed to check every single person going back and forth across the lines? If you’ve ever been stuck in your car at Otay Mesa or the San Ysidro crossing on a Sunday afternoon for 3 hours and just one more Mexican vendor with a giant plaster Tweety Bird or painted matador on velvet tries to hit you up for a sale…
I guess in the big cost / benefit analysis, just how many actual terrorists will this apprehend who drive or walk across the border to buy some jeans at the Gap outlet compared to how many tax dollars this’ll all cost? I dunno. Bigger brains than mine have this all tuned in. Seems simple enough to get a legit passport but the bottom line is that it will never reveal what darkness might truly lie in the human heart.
But, I’m sure Homeland Security has this all figured out. Right? “I’ll give you 2 bucks for the Big Tweety Bird and that’s my final offer! The kid’s love it!”
For more info, check out: http://www.travel.state.gov/
That’s my story…
Jonathan
That's My Story 
Leave a Reply