Students considering a trip to Rocky Point for spring break this year may have some extra preparation ahead of them.

Beginning Jan. 31, all U.S., Canadian and Bermudian citizens ages 19 and older entering the U.S. by land or sea from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean will need to present additional identification before being allowed back in to the states.

Travelers will need to present either a valid passport or both a government-issued photo ID and proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, said Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner.

These added security measures are part of a phased-implementation program called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a government proposal intended to strengthen U.S. border security, said Keehner.

“Right now we’re ending the routine practice of oral declarations at the border, and mandating that people show proof of citizenship,” Keehner said.

Previously, U.S. border patrol agents were allowed to accept oral declarations — verbal confirmations of citizenship — from those entering through a land or seaport.

“This is one of the efforts we’re undertaking to secure our border in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform from Congress,” Keehner said.

She said border agents were formerly able to accept library cards, student IDs and baptismal certificates as proof of citizenship. After Jan. 31, however, border agents will be required to accept only specific types of identification.

Citizens ages 18 and younger, however, will need only to present proof of citizenship, according to DHS documents.

WHTI’s first phase was enacted on Jan. 23, 2007, making it necessary to present a passport when entering the U.S. by air. But Keehner said that the DHS hopes to implement phase two by summer 2009, making land and sea travelers compliant to the same regulations.

“We would like to move forward as quickly as possible,” she added. “This was one of the core 9-11 Commission recommendations.”

Phase two of the WHTI was originally scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2008. The deadline was later extended to the summer of 2008, and now, by act of Congress, no sooner than the summer of 2009.

In June 2007, U.S. Congress enacted an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that prohibits the use of funds to implement the WHTI for land travel before June 2009, said Keehner.

As a result, an exact implementation date has not yet been determined, said Kim Foster, a senior office specialist at the U.S. Passport Acceptance Office at ASU.
“They said they’ll let us know,” said Foster.

Nevertheless, she said ASU students have been flocking to apply for passports in anticipation of the change.

“We had a record number of applicants last year — over 8,000 at this office alone,” said Foster. “That’s 2,000 more than normal, and we’re going in that same direction this year.”

She added that because of the amount of applicants, this is the last week students can apply for a passport and receive it in time for spring break travel without having to expedite it. Expediting the passport would result in half the processing time but costs about $100 more.

“It’s definitely an extra task I’d prefer not to do,” said Austin Howe, a global studies junior, of having to obtain and present extra ID. But Howe said he understood the need for homeland security, despite expected border-crossing delays.

Though the new system may result in longer waits at the border, Keehner said that as the procedures develop, the setbacks will work themselves out.

“Whenever there is a new change, there certainly could be a delay,” she said. “But if border agents can rely on the validity of the documents, they’ll spend less time checking them.”

Reported by Daniel Newhauser and posted by www.asuwebdevil.com

Reach the reporter at: daniel.newhauser@asu.edu.