Starting tomorrow think of Canada as a foreign country
Undocumented crossings will be history as of Monday
The day that U.S. border crossers anxiously have been preparing for is finally here.
At 12:01 a.m. Monday, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative takes effect.
The days of going back and forth to Canada over the Peace Bridge with just a verbal declaration of U. S. citizenship officially ends.
Instead, travelers returning home from Canada will be required to present a U.S. passport, passport card, enhanced driver’s license or Trusted Traveler Program card such as NEXUS.
Frequent border crossers seem to have accepted the changes, albeit begrudgingly, and have been crowding local Department of Motor Vehicles offices for enhanced driver’s licenses and post offices for passports over the past few weeks, especially during the last couple of days.
“They’re doing what they are doing,” grumbled Jesse Brazelton of Buffalo, who, like many area residents, travels from time to time to Canada. He stood in an hourlong line at the Cheektowaga auto bureau at midday Saturday for an enhanced driver’s license.
Danielle Nati, who hit the downtown auto bureau during her lunch break Friday, was skeptical of the need for the new regulations.
“It’s kind of foolish,” said Nati, a Sloan resident. “I think it’s just a way to make money.”
But Tim Hennigan, a Hamburg resident who frequently travels to Canada for his son’s hockey games and tournaments, believes the increased border security is good for the country.
“The whole point is safety, and I think these new documents will speed up the process,” of crossing the border, he said as he waited in line Friday at the downtown Buffalo auto bureau.
Federal border officials predict a “seamless transition” Monday, when specific citizenship and identity documents will be required to re-enter the United States from Canada.
They base the optimistic assessment on a 95 percent compliance rate over the last 18 months, during which an extended dress rehearsal has been in place at the region’s four international bridges.
Since January 2008, when the government did away with oral declarations, travelers have had to present Customs & Border Protection officers with a passport or driver’s license and a birth certificate.
Chips transmit data
Kevin A. Corsaro, a chief at the Buffalo field office for Customs, predicted lines at primary bridge inspection booths actually may even move more quickly with the new documents.
That’s because inspectors won’t have to type in the names of the travelers. A radio signal from a transmission chip in the documents will do the work.
The signal will connect with a secure data base that automatically fills a computer screen in the booth with a photograph of the traveler or travelers and other pertinent information about them.
Children under 16 will not need the new documents, but must have a birth certificate.
Despite warnings and advertisements in newspapers, on TV and on billboards throughout the area, some people still aren’t aware of the new requirements. Count two former presidents among them.
George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were unaware of the impending changes when they were questioned at a forum Friday in Toronto.
“I thought we were making good progress on using a driver’s licence to cross the border. What happened to the easy-pass card?” Bush asked, according to a report from CBC news.
Clinton said the revelation about the issue “got my attention with this, so I’m going back home I’ll see if there is anything else I can do.”
What will happen to U. S. citizens who have neglected to get their documents?
Corsaro said that unsuspecting violators of the new rules won’t get tossed in jail or fined. At least not for now.
“We’re going to apply an informed compliance approach,” Corsaro said. “If a traveler as of Monday is in violation and we establish U. S. or Canadian citizenship and identity, they’ll be released at the primary inspection line.”
They also will be sent on their way with a warning in the form of a tearsheet listing the acceptable documents.
If border officials have difficulty verifying the individual’s citizenship, the penalty for noncompliance could come in the form of a long wait, Corsaro added.
“A traveler could be sent to a secondary inspection until their citizenship and identity are established because we don’t want to delay travelers who are compliant with the new law,” the chief said.
So when will the soft-handed approach for those who do not obey the law end?
“That’s for the Department of Homeland Security to determine. We’re waiting for further guidance,” Corsaro said.
Regarding long-standing concerns that increased border scrutiny could harm the flow of commerce between the two countries, Rep. Louis M. Slaughter says she plans to keep an eye on the changes by introducing legislation to monitor wait times and effectiveness of the new documents.
“This legislation will allow us to identify any problems with WHTI implementation . . . and hopefully quickly determine what actions need to be taken to ensure that our border and our regional economies are healthy,” said Slaughter, D-Fairport.
Beating the deadline
The June 1 change has kept Erie County Clerk Kathleen Hochul and her staff busy. While the enhanced licenses will continue to be available after the changeover, tens of thousands of residents have been trying to beat the deadline.
Hochul’s office alone has processed more than 30,000 enhanced licenses — or 40 percent of the enhanced licenses issued in the entire state.
To deal with the influx of license seekers, Hochul installed electronic signs at the auto bureau in the Rath Building in downtown Buffalo and the Cheektowaga bureau because they are the county’s two busiest sites.
“We even have what I call a Wal-Mart greeter, who’ll check your paperwork when you come in, and if you don’t have everything you need you won’t have to wait,” Hochul said.
You can still apply for an enhanced license and have it in approximately 10 days, Hochul says, but passports, which are also processed by the county clerk’s office, average four to six weeks now.
To get around the waits, customers have been employing a variety of strategies.
Chris Pawenski, a downtown Buffalo worker who lives in Orchard Park, last week took his lunch break later in the day to avoid waiting.
“I waited until 1 o’clock. I figured at noon the place would be crowded,” he said.
His plan paid off. According to the electronic sign that lists wait times, Pawenski would be able to get to a window clerk in nine minutes.
‘Really pretty simple’
Earl Wilson, an avid fisherman from the East Side, was among about 100 people enduring the long wait at the Cheektowaga bureau Saturday. He said the line seemed to be moving along more quickly than he anticipated.
“It’s going fast, well, faster than usual,” Wilson said. “I waited until the last minute, so I guess I am getting what I deserve at this point.”
LaShaun McClaney of Buffalo, who frequently visits family in Toronto but doesn’t have a passport, decided Saturday it was about time she got her enhanced license.
She said she was worried “there might be some sort of ‘Catch-22’ or difficulty to do all of this, but it’s really pretty simple as long as you have the legitimate paperwork.”
As a limousine driver, Williamsville resident Joe Milazzo crosses the border weekly, if not daily. He has a passport, but he said he wants something he can fit easily in his pocket, thus his Saturday wait for an enhanced driver’s license.
“A passport is too inconvenient,” he said.
mbecker@buffnews.com, lmichel@buffnews.com and jmay@buffnews.com
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