Americans may soon need passports

Found on CBC News on Monday, 04 April 2005
Browse Politics

In response to a new rule requiring most Canadians to carry passports for entry into the U.S., Public Security Minister Anne McLellan said Americans may also have to carry the document to enter the country.

McLellan's comments come as the U.S. State Department announced that by 2007, most Canadians will need a passport to enter the United States.

And by 2008, most Americans who visit Canada won't be able to re-enter their country without a passport.

Canadians without a passport will be barred from entering the United States after Dec. 31, 2006, unless they have a special U.S. "laser visa" border crossing card that includes a fingerprint or other "biometric identifier" such as a retinal scan.

The new rules will still allow Canadians to enter the United States without being fingerprinted. The U.S. demands a fingerprint from all other foreign visitors now.

The United States is also putting pressure on European countries to speed up introduction of new high-security passports containing a computer chip with a digital photograph.

Oh sweet paranoia. When the music industry can treat customers as potential pirates, America can treat visitors as criminals. Soon, fingerprints won't be enough: then they will need DNA samples (from you and your parents), detailed bank information, criminal and dental records, educational status (hey, you might be a trained terrorist) and you will have to pass a purity test. Of course you will have to wear a GPS tracking device during your visit. Welcome to the land of the free (no, not really). Thanks, but I won't come. Just a minor question: why do they want your photo on a chip on your passport? Can't they just look at an image?