PORTLAND – A Homeland Security official said Friday the government will be flexible in enforcing new identification requirements at border crossings when they take effect next week.

“We want people to know what the requirements are, and if they don’t have the proper documents, we’re going to be very flexible and use a common sense approach,” said Thomas Winkowski, assistant commissioner of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. At the same time he urged people who might have occasion to leave the country to get the right documentation soon.

Currently, U.S. and Canadian citizens entering the country by land can show an ID and tell the border agent their nationality.

But starting next Thursday, Jan. 31, people who are 19 or older will have to present either a passport or a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, plus a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship. Travelers who are 18 or younger will need only a birth certificate.

“We want the traveling public to get used to carrying the right documentation for the land border, and we want to make sure we’re giving them ample time to go out and get those documents,” Winkowski said.

Rules imposed under the government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative are intended to make the country’s borders safer from terrorism.

Oral declarations are not enough in the post-Sept. 11 world, Winkowski said. “Simply coming in and saying, ‘Hi, I’m a U.S. citizen,’ or ‘Hi, I’m a Canadian citizen,’ are not enough. We need additional documentation. The 9-11 commission said that for terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons.”

Beginning in June 2009, the WHTI will require travelers entering the country at land and sea ports to present either a passport, passport card, or other specified document.

“We’re raising the public’s awareness. We are telling them what documents they will need to come into the country in June 2009, when all the [WHTI] document requirements will be put into place,” said Steven Farquharson, director of field operations for the New England office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Farquharson and Winkowski held the news conference in Portland on Friday as part of a nationwide series of such events designed to publicize the changes in documentation needed for border crossings.

During the education phase, a person crossing the border who does not have the proper documentation will be given a handout explaining the new requirements, Winkowski said. He did not specify how long the education phase would last.

The handout will list acceptable single documents, such as a U.S. or Canadian passport, a U.S. passport card, U.S. military ID, U.S. merchant mariner document, or Native American tribal photo identification card. Passport cards are still being designed, but will be less expensive to obtain than a passport, and should be available by spring.

In lieu of an acceptable single document, travelers may submit two documents, such as a driver’s license or U.S. or Canadian military card and citizenship documents such as birth certificates, naturalization certificates, or citizen certificates without a photo.

“This is just the beginning of the education campaign,” Winkowski said. “We have some time here before we begin the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which we are not implementing now. WHTI can be implemented as early as June 2009,” and will be enforced, he said.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a news release that she has “expressed concern” to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff about the new requirements for documents at border crossings.

Collins said to impose an additional requirement for a birth certificate, which many residents do not have on hand, may cause considerable difficulties and back-ups at the border crossings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

gchappell@bangordailynews.net

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