Bajahowodd
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The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
According to the LA Times, since it went into effect, even though 96% of those entering from Canada and Mexico were compliant, a whopping 2.3 million
did not have the required documents. 1150 per day(yikes!) were required to undergo secondary inspection at San Ysidro. Another 680 per day were
allowed to pass at San Ysidro without being sent to secondary.
A quasi profiling involved inasmuch as there just is not enough room, and there are not enough inspectors to conduct a secondary inspection on
everyone attempting to enter without the 'required" documentation.
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2.3 million Americans reentered without proper documents
Federal review also finds that most were allowed in without being sent for further questioning.
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times
December 28, 2010
Despite new travel requirements, more than 2.3 million Americans reentering the country by land or sea from Mexico or Canada failed to produce a
passport, birth certificate or other secure document to establish identity and nationality, a government review has found.
Most people, including about 500,000 in California, were allowed to pass through ports of entry without the approved documents or without being sent
to a secondary inspection post for a more in-depth examination, according to the report by the inspector general for the Department of Homeland
Security.
Many travelers were allowed to pass after undergoing extensive questioning and producing at least a driver's license, the report found. Overall, 96%
of travelers arriving at the 39 busiest land ports were in compliance with the new law, which took effect in June 2009.
The procedure for processing those without the required documents needs to be more precise and implemented across the board, the report said.
Despite the findings, the audit concluded that if all those who skirted the rules were sent for a secondary inspection — which is not currently
required — the agency would not have the necessary staffing and infrastructure to handle the resulting increase in workload.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agrees with the findings and plans to follow the inspector general's recommendations, said Stephanie Malin, a
spokeswoman for the agency.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, approved by Congress last year, requires U.S. travelers reentering the country from Mexico or Canada to
present documents, such as a passport or birth certificate, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
At the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, the busiest land border crossing in the country, a traveler without the proper documents is usually sent
to a secondary inspection post for further scrutiny, said Jackie Dizdul, a San Diego spokeswoman for the agency.
But if an officer can determine the person's identity and citizenship in the initial contact, through questioning or other supporting documents, such
as a driver's license, the person is allowed to pass without being referred for a secondary inspection, Dizdul said.
All travelers who are not in compliance are told about the regulations and what documents are required. That procedure is common at all ports of
entry, Malin said.
In the first eight months of the initiative, officers at San Ysidro sent about 282,000 travelers without proper documents, about 1,150 a day, to
secondary inspections. During the same period, officers allowed about 167,000 travelers, about 680 a day, to pass without the documents or a secondary
inspection.
With current staffing levels and available space, a policy that sends all noncompliant travelers to a secondary inspection would cause major delays at
the port, the review said.
In February, the agency will conduct an analysis at the ports of entry in Laredo, Texas, and in Detroit to gauge the effect of such a policy, Malin
said.
Out of more than 1 million people, including U.S. and foreign citizens, who legally enter the United States each day, about three-fourths arrive by
land from Mexico or Canada, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
stephen.ceasar@latimes.com
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Woooosh
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There are activist travelers and many Border officials as well that believe a US Citizen does not need a US Passport to be allowed entry into their
own country. A passport is to enter foreign countries, not your own. No matter what rules and laws they write- they cannot get around that obstacle.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Bajahowodd
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Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
There are activist travelers and many Border officials as well that believe a US Citizen does not need a US Passport to be allowed entry into their
own country. A passport is to enter foreign countries, not your own. No matter what rules and laws they write- they cannot get around that obstacle.
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I fundamentally agree. That's likely why what is happening is happening. At least for land travel. How about someone that manages to enter Mexico by
land, but attempts to fly back. Ain't no way the airline will allow you to board without a passport. Double standard?
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