Posted on 04/05/2005 4:57:38 PM PDT by Dog Gone
Thank you for your reply, but it still does not make sense to me. As an American citizen, I am glad to cooperate. BUT, I simply do not understand the Panama angle according the U.S. (as cited or invented by the author of the article). As an American Citizen, I must always have a valid U.S. passport to leave and enter Panama and the United States. This always has been forever.
Only the Caribean Islands, Mexico, and Canada are exempt form having a passport for american citizens to come and go as far as I know.
Thank you, Doe Eyes.
I have to believe this is one hysterical article. There is no way I can leave Panama without a current passport no matter what my citizenship. Entering Miami, I have never in my life known to get past those guys without my American passport. Thank goodness. But maybe I have become out of touch recently. I hope not.
Our family was about to do a simple Bahamas cruise and the red-tape and hassles on us citizens we're TOO MUCH.
The cruise industry are the loosers.
That's a great idea -- never thought of that. I'll keep that in mind the next time I am asked.
Very good point -- since you don't have to be a US citizen to get your driver's license, then showing it for citizenship wouldn't work.
No joke. I read something about that in the last week either here in a story posted or on World Net Daily.
This will make short trips across the border for shopping and a meal really burdensome. Of course with all the drug gang violence along the border right now I wouldn't go across right now anyway.
Just get one. Okay, it's a hassle. You have to fill out a form and send in photos exactly the right size. Lots of things in life are a hassle including waiting in Customs lines at airports or border crossings.
I just need to get mine renewed, but I'd hate to have to carry it the whole time I'm just walking around Matamoros or some other border town. Even overseas, you normally don't have to carry your passport all the time.
I think a better view on the subject is that after 9/11 you'll need a passport to cross international boundaries legally. That doesn't seem like a huge burden. If it does, I guess those Americans can swim the Rio Grande to Mexico. I think it's a two-way river.
There are certainly things I don't like about some government rules, regulations and restrictions, but post 9/11 things have changed.
There's also a time when you have to have some belief or trust in your government. It's not perfect, but it's better than Uganda or Iran or, pick a country.
What place in the world is perfect? Many things in life are compromise and sacrifice. Sometimes you have to give a little bit. Our present times and situations are probably not forever. Things can and will get better.
We're at war. Islamofascism and left wing treason are at war with freeedom and Western civilization. I hope things will get better in the future and we will regain our anonmymity and freedoms.
The fundamental difference is that the former is just enough of a PITA to carry that nobody will have it on their persons as a matter of routine. Thus, it would resist the sort of "mission creep" that has occurred with the Social Security number.
Actually, I'd support requiring a passport to vote (though this would in turn require the government to make them available to citizens at no cost).
ping
A passport has never been required to return from Mexico.
If you drive across the border generally you don't need anything but if asked you need a drivers license.
Driving across the Tiajuana border, which i've done hundreds of times, i've never been asked for an id once.
If you go by commercial airline you need a drivers license if you are a US citizen.
Flying in my own aircraft i've never been asked for an id going through Customs at Brown or Callixico.
I've been to Mexico hundreds of times in the last 60 years.
What will illegal aliens traveling from Mexico require!
Is Vicente Fox upset over this policy? If not, then we still have to worry about streams of illegal immigrants crossing our borders. He realizes that this new measure doesn't affect illegals who obviously cross covertly. From a counterterrorism perspective this can be easily circumvented. It's worth a try I guess.
Illegals can come in as is.
When I went to Puerto Vallarta in 1981 with a group of friends.....we had to get a passport....and were told we couldn't get in without it. Customs asked for them when we got there... and checked them again when we left at the airport. I wasn't aware they had changed that procedure. It's the only time I've ever traveled outside U.S. borders so I never used it again.
Travel to Mexico should require the Third Armored division.
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