New ID rules at border crossings now in effect

ST. STEPHEN, N.B.—Instead of just asking for ID, American border guards began requesting passports today from anyone entering the United States.
After four years of false starts and some minor concessions to opponents, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is now officially in effect.

Tourism and business groups have been bracing for this day—worried many people will avoid the red tape and decide not to travel across the Canada-U.S.
border.
According to Passport Canada, about 54 percent of Canadians have a passport, compared to just 30 percent of Americans.
U.S. border officials at Calais, Maine reported no problems early this morning as people crossed into the state from St. Stephen, N.B.
There was very light traffic and no lineup.
By 6 a.m., everyone who entered the crossing area had produced the proper documents.
Lorne Linton, of Scotch Ridge, N.B., lives just 11 km from the border. He has his passport, but said he only crosses the border about 10 times a year.
“I got it three years ago when I was going to the Dominican Republic on holidays,” Linton, 42, noted yesterday.
He said while about 35 percent of New Brunswickers have a passport, he expects the percentage in border communities such as St. Stephen is probably 60 percent because of the number of families that stradle the border, and people who live on one side and work on the other.
“People I’ve been talking to have all been getting them [passports] so they can cross the border because they have family and so
forth,” he said.
A lot of New Brunswickers also make regular trips to border communities in Maine for cheaper gasoline and groceries.
Adam Leslie, 32, of Calais works at a restaurant within view of the Calais-St. Stephen crossing, and has family in St. Andrews, N.B.
But Leslie said he hasn’t got a passport yet.
“I’m going to need to if I’m ever going to get back to St. Andrews to see the parents,” Leslie said.
“And my mother, on her end, hasn’t gotten one yet, either, to be able to come over here,” he added. “She does a lot of shopping over here so she’s going to have to get one at some point.
“I’m not sure how many people are prepared,” Leslie remarked. “A lot of people I know haven’t gotten them, either, just because of money and such.”
Anyone who doesn’t have a passport still is being allowed to cross the border for the next few weeks—as long as they have such things as a birth certificate and picture ID.
Aside from a passport, other secure forms of documentation include a Nexus card or an enhanced driver’s licence.