Posted on 04/10/2005 7:42:09 AM PDT by Marine Inspector
Since the federal government proposes phasing in its new passport policy by 2008 -- and since it is designed to further secure our borders after 9/11 -- why wasn't it proposed on 9/12? Or in 1999?
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
Ping.
I am confused. I never knew I didn’t have to have a passport to get into the States…Probably so, but there is no way that I know of I can leave Panama without showing a passport. That is to say, I still have to have a passport to leave Panama anyway.
Why do we need Americans to possess passports to travel? Is it because our ID is not citizen specific? At nearly 100 dollars a copy for the passport, this is just a way for the govt to make money IMO, and pretend that they are protecting our security of course.
Current law states that US citizens are not required to have a passport to return from Canada, Mexico and a few of the close by islands.
Too busy giving us the anal probe with the USA PATRIOT Act to deal with a niggling detail like keeping undesirables out.
Why secure the borders when failing to do so provides the perfect excuse to implement a surveillance state?
I disagree. Security is the overall concern, but as always, the Government goes about it wrong.
One of two things will happen. Either this whole thing will get nixed before 2008 or the Feds will drop the price of passports
SEE!!!! The government is actually finally doing something about the illegal immigration problem! After years of study they have finally agreed on a solution.
Yeah right. I am tired of bureaucrats patting themselves on the back every time they actually act like they have a new solution to an old problem and are ready to act.
Too little........ way too late.
This law may be an artifact of the former canal zone and the movement of people from here to there, including military dependents and PCC dependents...didn't passenger flights arrive at albrook at some point in the distant past?
it may also be that people leaving from Howard on Space-A or chartered flights to charleston didn't have to have anything but a birth certificate and dependent ID, i don't know.
""Probably so, but there is no way that I know of I can leave Panama without showing a passport.""
When one is traveling, a passport is for one's own protection. It is an international identification. Passports are similar around the world and are recognized immediately. This wouldn't be so with a State's driver’s license or whatever other ID one chooses to use. Also, passports do cost initially because they aren't cheap to print and deliver, but they are good for 10 years. If one can’t afford the cost, one can’t afford to travel.
Yes, this is why I'm surprised Panama is also mentioned. I think the person who wrote the article is misinformed...Or maybe I am. All I can state for sure is that I always have to have a passport to leave Panama. I suppose if I had a State's driver’s license, which I don't have, I could have entered the States with that license and kept my passport in my bag. At least, that's how I think I understand it. Strange.
Here's an example:
I had a brother in law who was working as a doctor for the Saudis. Every 6 months he was required to leave the country. He couldn't come home without losing his tax exemtion which required being out of the country 18 months.
He flew to Mexico, walked across the border using his California drivers license, took a cab to Brown Field and I flew him home.
He returned by the same route 2 weeks later.
God bless the Minute Men and Minute Women!
it may also be that people leaving from Howard on Space-A or chartered flights to charleston didn't have to have anything but a birth certificate and dependent ID, i don't know.
I was thinking the same thing. But all that stopped at the end or 1999. When it was the Canal Zone, one would get official travel documents for leaving and entering Panama (Tocumen Airport), but I think, one still had to have a Passport anyway…I think…I have always had a passport so my mind is fuzzy on this one. If one left out of Howard, one didn’t need a passport, only, as you stated, a birth certificate and/or dependent ID. I never traveled on the “Freedom Bird” because of the uncertainty of leaving and returning on a particular date. Also, one had to go all the way to Charleston, NC.
As far as Albrook was concerned, yes, it was the only international airport for both the Canal Zone and the Republic of Panama. It ceased being a commercial airport, as you pointed out, many, many years ago when Panama built it’s own international airport which was jungle and wilderness at the time.
But definitely, today, one has to have a passport to leave Tocumen Airport. Embassy folks have their own official passports. I don’t know about the U.S. Embassy Marines and their needs.
How is security the overall concern when requiring American Citizens to have proper documentation to return to America, while the 'rights' of illegal aliens are cited as reasons the 'Minuteman Project' needs to be watched? Guess we as Americans need to ask Vincenti what the easiest and quickest path from Naco to Tucson is.......
Hey, that sounds good to me.
With the exception of a handfull of people on this forum, most probably agree we need to solve our border issues. There are some pretty good and some pretty whacky ideas expressed on how to do this. But I'd like to point out that even if we could wave the magic wand and solve the illegal entrant issues, we still have the post 9-11 security issues to deal with.
If we had a mechanism that allowed workers to cross freely and legally, we'd still have thousands of miles of border that could be used by terrorists and other undesirables. Knock on wood that we've not had another major terror event, but I still say we can't let our guard down. The price is just too high.
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