WASHINGTON -- Two amendments supported by the travel industry hang in the balance now that, after months of debate, the Senate has approved its version of an immigration bill.
The amendments, which are included in the Senate bill, would affect the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a government program that is intended to enhance border security by requiring all travelers crossing U.S. borders to have a passport or similar government-approved documentation.
The WHTI goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, but the Bush administration plans to begin implementing it before that.
But under an amendment sponsored by Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Jan. 1, 2008, deadline would be pushed back to June 1, 2009, to bolster awareness of the law and give travelers more time to acquire passports.
A second WHTI amendment included in the Senate bill addresses travelers who frequently cross the U.S.-Canada border. It calls for the creation of a PASS card as an alternative document to a passport. Each card would cost about $50.
The amendment was a response to concerns raised by the travel industry and other businesses that the cost of a passport ($97 for adults and $82 for children) might be onerous for certain travelers.
Under the amendment, children up to 18 years old would not need a passport or PASS card, and adults would pay no more than $20 for a proposed 10-year PASS card for travel to Canada.
The amendment also calls for free 24-hour passes to Canada for day-trippers.
“It is certainly encouraging that two different amendments to extend the deadline and to make other changes regarding WHTI were included,” said Richard Webster, vice president of government affairs for the Travel Industry Association.
Nevertheless, high hopes are tempered by the possibility that the contentious immigration legislation could stall in Congress.
“The jury is still out as to whether the Senate can successfully conference a comprehensive immigration reform bill with the House,” Webster said.
The Senate bill includes provisions that would bolster border security, create a guest worker program and provide a means for people who have already entered the U.S. illegally to gain citizenship.
The 600-page bill differs significantly from a House version passed earlier this year that emphasized border security enforcement but offered no guest worker program or any mechanism for permitting illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the House’s lead conferee for the immigration reform bill, has already stated that he is opposed to the Senate’s citizenship provision; he called the Senate bill “a nonstarter,” according to several press reports.
If the House and Senate find common ground on immigration reform, other pitfalls remain. For instance, it is possible that one or both of the amendments will be dropped from the final immigration bill.
And even if the WHTI amendment survives, it may have no impact on when the passport requirements go into effect.
The State Dept. and Dept. of Homeland Security decided last year to start phasing in the passport requirement on Jan. 1, 2007, for travelers to the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. The departments can implement the requirements at any time before the final deadline, so the amendment does not appear to directly affect their plans. Bermuda would be phased in later, leading up to the implementation of the WHTI law.
“There has always been an effort to lobby [the State Department and Homeland Security] to move their administrative deadline,” Webster said.
That effort, he said, would move forward regardless of the immigration bill’s fate.
To contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].