Little worry over changes at border

SEATTLE — The next step in a tightening of requirements for people entering the United States will likely have little effect on businesses in U.S. towns along the Canadian border, owners and operators say.

That may be because the change today amounts to the formal start of a dry run to acquaint travelers with future requirements for written proof of U.S. or Canadian citizenship to enter the United States, and many border crossers already have made the adjustment, a number said Wednesday.

In most cases that means a passport, enhanced driver’s license and identification card, or birth certificate and standard driver’s license will not be required until after June 1, 2009.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“I don’t see it affecting us that much because people are already carrying that ID,” said David Nolan, first assistant manager at the Big 5 sporting goods store in Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham.

About 45 percent of the store’s business is from Canadians, and “no one has actually talked about it,” Nolan said.

Gary Vis, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Lynden, said he didn’t expect traffic delays at the border to be “any more than they’ve got now” or have much immediate impact on business.

“I think that as they phase in and become stricter, then it could cause some problems,” Vis said.

The principal immediate change is that a verbal declaration of citizenship will no longer be enough to gain entry without a potentially time-consuming secondary inspection, said Mike Milne, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in Seattle.

Traffic through the two crossings at Blaine, northwest of Bellingham, is the third busiest along the nation’s northern border, after Buffalo, N.Y., and Detroit. Motorists entering through Lynden and Sumas and heading south to Seattle also funnel through Bellingham.

A standard driver’s license will usually be enough to enter until June 1, 2009, when the passport requirement is scheduled to go fully into effect, Milne said. Until then, those without passports or passport substitutes will be handed the same brochures explaining the new requirements that have been distributed at border crossings for months, he said.

More than half to as many as two-thirds of current travelers now meet the future standard, Milne said.

Customs agents have been working hard to notify the traveling public and transportation operators, and no significant impact is likely on traffic or waiting times, which already can exceed two hours at peak travel times between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., he said.

“This is a transition phase,” Milne said. “We expect things to go just fine. We’ve been getting the word out as much as we can.”

Bev DenBleyker, owner of the gift shop Marin Rose in Lynden, said nearly half of her business is from Canadians and “they haven’t mentioned it.”

When the passport requirement is fully in effect, though, “I think it will discourage some,” DenBleyker said. “It definitely will.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Everett postal workers gather for a portrait to advertise the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County letter carriers prepare for food drive this Saturday

The largest single-day food drive in the country comes at an uncertain time for federal food bank funding.

Everett
Everett considers ordinance to require more apprentice labor

It would require apprentices to work 15% of the total labor hours for construction or renovation on most city projects over $1 million.

Snohomish County prosecutor Kara Van Slyck delivers closing statement during the trial of Christian Sayre at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Thursday, May 8, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Jury deliberations begin in the fourth trial of former Everett bar owner

Jury members deliberated for about 2 hours before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Millie Judge sent them home until Monday.

Christian Sayre sits in the courtroom before the start of jury selection on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Christian Sayre timeline

FEBRUARY 2020 A woman reports a sexual assault by Sayre. Her sexual… Continue reading

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

A “SAVE WETLANDS” poster is visible under an seat during a public hearing about Critical Area Regulations Update on ordinance 24-097 on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Council passes controversial critical habitat ordinance

People testified for nearly two hours, with most speaking in opposition to the new Critical Areas Regulation.

An apartment building under construction in Olympia, Washington in January 2025. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Next stop for Washington housing: More construction near transit

Noticed apartment buildings cropping up next to bus and light rail stations?… Continue reading

Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero / Washington State Standard
Lt Gov. Denny Heck presiding over the Senate floor on April 27.
Washington tries to maintain B.C. ties amid Trump era tensions

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and others traveled to Victoria to set up an interparliamentary exchange with British Columbia, and make clear they’re not aligned with the president’s policies or rhetoric.

Marysville
Marysville talks middle housing at open house

City planning staff say they want a ‘soft landing’ to limit the impacts of new state housing laws. But they don’t expect their approach to slow development.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.