New U.S. border rules take effect for land and sea entry

Headed to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean? Here's a tip: Take your passport to avoid a headache coming home.

Beginning Monday, the slow squeeze of border security will tighten further when a rule takes effect requiring U.S. and Canadian citizens to present passports -- or a very limited number of other travel documents -- when entering the United States at land and sea borders.

Air travelers have been required to carry travel documents since January 2007. But the number of people crossing land borders is far greater, and the June 1 deadline has been viewed with some trepidation, especially in Canadian border communities where cross-border travel by citizens of both countries historically has required minimal documentation.

Compliance with the new rules was high early Monday, according to Kelly Ivahnenko, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington.

"We're not seeing any backups or unusual wait times at this point," Ivahnenko said.

"We are taking a practical and flexible approach so if for whatever reason the traveler doesn't have the proper documents, we're taking a look at those on a case-by-case basis. No one is being denied entry."

The same rules will be in effect for U.S. residents attempting to re-enter the country at the busier southern border. Existing document requirements will remain in place for Mexican nationals wanting to enter the United States.

At the border crossing in Laredo, Texas, 20 to 25 percent of those crossing the border are U.S. citizens, according to Rick Pauza, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in Laredo. Of those affected by the new rules, about 80 percent are complying with the documentation requirements, Pauza said.

"We haven't really seen any hiccups or anything," Pauza said. U.S. citizens who do not have the proper documentation are being provided with an information sheet telling them how to go about getting an approved form of identification. The majority of those who are non-compliant still are being processed and allowed entry at the primary inspection point.

The rule was originally scheduled to take effect more than a year ago, but Congress delayed it amid complaints that people weren't prepared and that trade, tourism and commerce with Canada -- the United States' biggest trading partner -- would be hurt.