I Cogitate

"It's incumbent upon people who use the [administration's video news releases] to say, this news clip was produced by the federal government." – President Bush, 4/15/05

VERSUS

"Last week, the Justice Department issued a memo directing government agencies to ignore the GAO's warnings, saying it does not agree 'that the covert propaganda prohibition applies simply because an agency's role in producing and disseminating information is undisclosed or "covert.""– Institute for Global Ethics, 3/21/05

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 15, 2005; Page A06

President Bush said yesterday that he was surprised by his administration's plans to require U.S. citizens to show a passport when reentering the country from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, and he ordered an administration review of whether the entry rules should be relaxed.

The changed policy, in the planning stages for months and announced April 5, is aimed at preventing terrorists from entering the country by exploiting what U.S. officials believe is today's overly permissive policy. In most cases, U.S. citizens must show only driver's licenses to reenter from Mexico and Canada. The new rules also will require Mexicans and Canadians to present a passport or another official document to enter this country.

The change has raised concerns among businesses, such as trucking and tourism companies, that rely on easy access to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean islands -- the latter a hot destination for many U.S. travelers. Yet the concern expressed by Bush is unusual, since the White House signed off on the change.

"When I first read that in the newspaper about the need to have passports, particularly the day crossings that take place, about a million for instance in the state of Texas, I said, 'What's going on here?' " Bush said when asked about the new rules at an American Society of Newspaper Editors convention. "I thought there was a better way to expedite the legal flow of traffic and people."

The president said he has instructed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and officials from the Department of Homeland Security to see if there is enough flexibility in the new policy to accommodate regular travelers, including truckers and tourists. Bush said one option might be electronic fingerprint imaging, "to serve as a so-called passport for daily traffic."

A senior U.S. government official involved in the policy change said Homeland Security and State Department officials had vetted the change exhaustively with the White House before announcing it. The officials said they always anticipated some changes would be needed.

 RSS feed