For the 92,999 cars and 22,300 trucks that cross the US-Canadian border each day, crossing the border will be more difficult once the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative takes effect in June, 2009. A response to homeland security concerns, the US is installing scanners and radio frequency identification cards at each customs lane at the 39 ports of entry. These units will be operational by December, 2008 at most ports and by April at Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie.
Those travelers who have NEXUS cards or enhanced driver's licenses embedded with a radio-frequency chip will present the card for scanning and the customs inspectors will know the citizenship, residency, biographical information, and photo of the driver before he reaches the booth. Other citizens will need to provide passports.
Customs inspectors will warn those without the proper documents of what to bring in the future. The border checks aim to detect security risks, but also facilitate legitimate travel. As Chief Ron Smith, head of boarder protection, Detroit field office of the Department of Homeland Security, put it "If we said ‘Your don't have this so you have to go home,' the border would shut down and we'd be hurting the economy." Those without the proper documents will be quizzed by customer officials to see if residency and citizenship can be determined and warned to bring the right documents the next time; if not, they will be turned away.
Currently, the states of Michigan, New York, Washington, Vermont, and Texas either offer enhanced driver's licenses or are preparing to. In Ontario, the issue is still under discussion in the legislation, but licenses and photo id's for non-drivers are expected to be available before spring.
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