Draconian security measures could prevent visitors to the 2010 Olympics from crossing the international border.
Streamlining security is already a priority for Washington. Meanwhile Idaho figures it can get a boost by attracting Americans who don’t want to deal with the hassles.
Comments
6 responses to “Getting business from border hassles”
Draconian is a pretty strong word to use with no definition. Its an international border, get a passport. An alternative ID is not going to be any less hassle. If cost is the problem, making passports cheaper would be less expensive than establishing a new form of ID.
No argument about passport prices. This is an example of how higher fees are actually backdoor tax hikes.
The border clampdown seems pretty arbitrary. The focus needs to be on making security more efficient, not closing the border.
Still what are the specific border policies that you consider arbitrary or draconian and how would you change them?
I propose to make Canada the 51st state. Done.
Requiring passports is silly if it would seriously hinder traffic and trade without improving security. The 9/11 terrorists had passports, after all.
I think it makes sense to develop a better form of regular ID, which is exactly what border states and provinces are pushing for.
My husband and I, US citizens, have a summer home in BC and have spent every summer there since 2000. Last week we took a short trip to the states to see family, and on return, my husband was told he was inadmissable in Canada. The officer discovered a computer entry that caught his attention…a 2004 charge of a felony, 4th degree assault, with a final conviction of misdemeanor. Because it was a misdemeanor conviction, we believed it would not cause border problems, so this took us as a huge surprise. We were then given paperwork on the 5 year period of rehabilitation, how to apply to the consulate for re-entry, etc. and sent on our way. We felt like every rug had been pulled out from under us. Why was this happening now, after all these years, and after the numerous crossings we had made? If they are getting ready to welcome the world into the 2010 Olympics, they’ve got some serious revamping to do (on all sides of the border.) So on to the interesting details of the conviction…we went to a college hockey game in our hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, and with the up and down excitement of the game, the tall man in front of me failed to sit down. I waited and waited and finally politely asked him to sit down. He complied, but then turned and told me how rude I was. My husband got into it verbally with the guy who then turned back to the game and when i thought it was over between them, he turned one more time to me and had to repeat how rude I was. (100% of my friends agree that rudeness is NOT in my nature.) At that, my husband hit him. Now we had police involvement, charges, and a looming court date…all for defending his woman at a HOCKEY game (Canadians should reward him!). The other man never showed up at court so the judge told my husband to behave himself for a year and then the charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor. At that, we thought we were good to put this behind us and go on with our lives. But, its the word ASSAULT that gets a canadian official’s attention. Whether felony or misdemeanor, assault is the highlighted word.
Needless to say my husband(now living with friends in Wash. while i am in BC tending to our home) is caught up in the hoop jumping of immigration lawyers, fingerprinting, police checks, fbi checks, etc. Canadian consulate told him the backlog is so large that he should plan on 3 years. Is this really homeland security? We are clearly disappointed in the system and the direction our world has gone with all of this. And believe me, we aren’t fingerpointing Canada on this one…its a widespread problem. Since all of this has happened, the outpouring of friends and acquaintances has been amazing, but it doesn’t get him here any faster. And with their condolences, etc., we’ve also heard countless ideas and avenues for him to cross illegally which I am sure are easily known to the very people the authorities are trying to catch at the border. So that’s our story, wish us luck…I think we’ll need it. Bureaucracy isn’t easily battled.