Air travelers will soon need a passport to enter U.S.
Nov 30, 2006 3:11 PM
Virtually all air travelers entering the United States beginning Jan. 23 will need to show passports -- even U.S. citizens, the Department of Homeland Security has announced.
Until now, U.S. citizens, travelers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travelers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licenses or birth certificates.
"The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says.
The department had been expected to institute the passport requirement -- part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) -- for air travelers around the beginning of the year. Setting the date on Jan. 23 pushes the start past the holiday season.
"Each of these steps raises the bar to an attack. None of this is perfect. None of them is foolproof. But we're always better off when we build higher levels of security," Chertoff says. "Right now, there are 8,000 different state and local entities in the U.S. issuing birth certificates and driver's licenses. Having to distinguish phony from real in so many different documents puts an enormous burden on our Customs and Border inspectors."
In a few cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by some frequent travelers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.
With new technology, Chertoff says, it is increasingly difficult to forge passports, and having just one document to scrutinize should make inspection easier for both inspectors and travelers.
Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travelers entering the U.S. by land or sea, including Americans, to show passports or an alternative security identification card when entering the U.S. starting as early as January 2008.
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