CBP Reminds Land, Sea Border Crossers that New Procedures Start January 31st

Washington - U.S. Customs and Border Protection reminds travelers that beginning January
31, border crossers will be asked to present documents denoting citizenship and identity
when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry. This change primarily
affects U.S. and Canadian citizens, who have previously been permitted entry by oral
declaration alone.

Thursday marks the transition toward standard and consistent documents for all travelers
entering the country. It is also the start of a robust and concerted public education campaign,
intended to inform travelers of document requirements which will be implemented next year.
“For the safety of the American people, the United States cannot have an honor system at
the border,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Requiring secure and
reliable documentation at our borders will drastically reduce security vulnerabilities posed by
permitting entry based on oral declarations alone. As travelers become accustomed to
carrying documents to cross the border, and as we move to more stringent documentation
requirements, our border officers will be able to more quickly and confidently identify crossborder
travelers.”

Beginning Jan. 31 of this year, U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older should no
longer expect that an oral declaration alone will be sufficient to prove identity and citizenship
for entry into the country. Instead, travelers will be asked to present documentation from a
specified list of acceptable documents when entering the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry.
Examples include birth certificates and driver’s licenses. A complete list of acceptable
documents is available to travelers at ports of entry and is also available on the CBP website.
( Important Change in International Land and Sea Travel Document Procedures )
Travelers who do not present one of these documents may be delayed while U.S. Customs
and Border Protection officers attempt to verify their identity and citizenship. Children ages
18 and under will only need to present a birth certificate.

In order to further secure U.S. borders against illegal entry, the U.S. will no longer be able to
admit travelers based on nothing more than a person’s oral assertion of citizenship. During
October to December 2007 alone, CBP officers reported 1,517 cases of individuals falsely
claiming to be U.S. citizens.

Last month, CBP officials determined that an individual falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen
was wanted for homicide in California. This individual was paroled for entry into the U.S. and
transported into the custody of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. Separately, multiple
Government Accountability Office and Inspector General reports have highlighted
weaknesses associated with oral declarations and substandard documentation.

Standard and consistent documentation is critical for border officials to accurately determine
admissibility into the United States. The Jan. 31 change is a step forward from the largely
subjective standard that allowed travelers to present an almost limitless array of
documents, such as baptismal certificates, to satisfy CBP officers of their citizenship. This
change will allow frontline officers to standardize inspections against a narrower class of
documents, and CBP has protocols in place to verify the authenticity of suspicious driver licenses
and guard against the use of counterfeit or altered licenses.

DHS has maintained a consistent public awareness and information campaign to ensure that the
traveling public is aware of the new travel documentation requirements under the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The transition beginning Jan. 31 will allow travelers to become
accustomed to the need to present appropriate documents. Travelers who apply for a
passport card, passport, Trusted Traveler Program cards, or other secure documentation
denoting both citizenship and identity in response to the Jan. 31 change will not need to take
additional steps to meet the final requirements upon full implementation of the travel initiative
in June 2009.

U.S. citizens may begin applying in advance for the new U.S. Passport Card on Feb. 1 in
anticipation of land border travel document requirements. The U.S. Department of State
expects that cards will be available and mailed to applicants in spring.
Although DHS was on schedule to begin implementation of the new requirements as early as
summer 2008, the fiscal year 2008 Appropriations Bill passed by Congress last month
restricts the department from implementing these new requirements until June 2009.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of
Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's
borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and
terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.