09212005-1

Home > News > Partnership Point-of-View > 2005 > 09212005-1

Voice Your Opinion on Proposed U.S. - Canada Border Crossing Requirements

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has launched a website to facilitate New Yorkers wishing to comment on the proposed changes of required documentation for crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which was implemented by the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS), would require all travelers, including U.S. Citizens, to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes their identity and nationality to enter or re-enter the United States.
 
Linked from Schumer’s homepage, www.schumer.senate.gov, the website will enable New Yorkers to participate in the public comment period, currently underway through the DOS and DHS.

“This gives New Yorkers direct access to comment on this proposal,” Schumer said in a release on his webpage.  “We need to make sure the Department of Homeland Security understands the implications this proposal has and how important cross-border commerce is to the upstate New York economy.  This could cause huge economic hardship from Buffalo to Plattsburg and across the Canadian border.  We must find a way to secure the border and protect commerce.”