WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters): The United States will temporarily relax rules requiring passports for US citizens traveling by air to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean because of a huge processing backlog, US officials said last week.
The announcement came a day after a controversial White House-sponsored bill to revamp US immigration laws and toughen border security restrictions stalled in a sharply divided Senate.
Through the end of September, US citizens going to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean may exit and enter the United States with government-issued identification and a State Department document showing they have applied for a passport, the officials said. The State Department has been bogged down by a wave of passport applications, threatening summer travel plans by thousands of people, after a decision by Congress to tighten border security by requiring Americans going to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean to carry passports.
One US official, speaking on condition that he not be named, said the decision to relax the rules reflected a desire to allow people to keep their holiday plans and give the US government time to reduce the backlog.
"Basically, this is a temporary extension to get over the hump," said the official.
The passport initiative was mandated by Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
Both Congress and the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States urged stronger travel document security to prevent Muslim militants from entering and to reduce passport fraud.
"Travel document security remains a top priority for the US government," said a joint statement issued by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
| 
