WASHINGTON – A plan to tighten U.S. borders by requiring passports or tamper-resistant identification cards from everyone entering the country by land from Canada and Mexico has been delayed.
House and Senate lawmakers agreed to push back the program by 17 months, saying they want to make sure new ID cards being developed by the Bush administration will better secure borders against terrorists without slowing legitimate travelers from Canada and Mexico. The new IDs will be required for Americans and all others entering the U.S.
The border crackdown was wrapped up in an overall $34.8 billion spending plan for the Homeland Security Department. The House and Senate each aim to approve it later this week, before lawmakers recess for the elections.
Currently, border crossers need only a picture ID card, such as a driver’s license, and a birth certificate to get into the United States. Neither document would be accepted under the proposed rules because they can be easily forged.
Instead, the administration is seeking to require border crossers to show passports or a cheaper alternative, dubbed a “PASS” card, that is still being designed. But technology to read the cards, as well as security standards to make sure they work, is not ready.
The congressional agreement worked out Monday night would delay the program until June 2009.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told Congress on Tuesday he would consider permitting travelers to use alternative forms of ID, such as driver’s licenses, if they are improved to prevent forgeries.
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