New Passport Rules

Dont Forget your Passport!

By Affad Shaikh

New brings new laws and policies. One that affects all of us is the US policy on travelling. According to the State Department, all travellers to Mexico, Canada and the Carribeans must have a passport with them upon entry to the United States.

So that means: You must take your passport, but you dont need a visa. You have to present your passport when you are arriving back into the United States, but you should still take all precuations you would take when travelling with such an important document.

Muslims have faced "interviews" with Customs agents frequently, but those who can not produce a passport will be interviewed by customs agents, who will decide whether to let them into the country. I wonder if the treatment metted out to Muslims will also be visited upon these negligent air travellers.

The only valid substitutes for a passport will be a NEXUS Air card, used by some American and Canadian frequent fliers; identification as a US Coast Gaurd merchant mariner; and the green card carried by legal permanent residents. Active members of the U.S. military are exempt U.S. Coast Guard

The policy signals a shift in how the United States controls the access to its borders by requiring all people to present proper identification in this case a passport versus what used to be a drivers liscence in the past. This policy will be further enhanced by January 2008, when all border crossings- land, sea and air- will require US citizens to have a passport upon seeking entry into the United States.

Party poopers indeed. Imagine all those drunk UCSD and SDSU students trying to remember where they left their passport, some coyote probably slipped them a pill, a hot mamasita and swiped their passport from under their nose- sucks to be intoxicated. This new measure will definatly dampen the cross border economy built on tourist and party animal money alike.