State Department: 2008. US Citizen without passport = no re-entry [View All]

[SammyBlue]

New Requirements for Travelers Between the United States and the Western Hemisphere

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, the Administration is proposing to complete it in phases following a proposed timeline, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.

This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

I will need a passport to have lunch 65 miles away in Nogales, Sonora. If I do not have on, the Border Patrol and the Customs Office is under orders from the IRTRP TO DENY REPATRIATION.

You will need a passport to have lunch in Canada, or go to a Canadian Casino. How many Americans will be denied re-entry into our country because "we have to be on the look out for Terrists!"

Nice, huh?