Senators Voice Dissent Over End of Oral Declarations at the U.S. Border

22 Jan 2008

A number of lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have voiced concerns over the Department of Homeland Security’s new plan to increase border crossing rules at the end of this month. As of January 31, 2008, all travelers will be required to show documents (e.g.: birth certificates, passports or driver’s licenses) that prove their citizenship when attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. Prior to this change in regulation, which is part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, citizens of the U.S. and Canada could simply make an oral declaration of their citizenship status.

Senate Judiciary Chairman, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), for example, has voiced concerns that this new initiative is poorly planned and could affect the amount of trade with and travel to the U.S., especially at a time when a recession is foreseen for the U.S. economy.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs member Susan Collins (R-ME) has also publicly spoken about the restrictive nature of this requirement change:

"While I understand that the secretary views this initiative as separate from the requirement for a passport that the Congress has prohibited him from implementing until June 2009, the clear message we were sending to the department was to be more attuned to the legitimate travel and commerce of border community residents," said Collins in a recent public statement." For the department to impose an additional requirement of a birth certificate, which many residents do not have at hand, and to no longer accept common documents such as baptismal certificates and student ID cards as a supplement to license checks could well cause considerable difficulties and back-ups at the border."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, however, disagrees with these voices of dissent and has stated in a letter to senators that he has the right to terminate the practice of oral declarations at the U.S. border. It is questionable whether the vocalized dissent of these senators and others will have any effect on this January 31 change. We will keep you posted and up-to-date on this topic in the near future.