SDN - Mexico's passport mandate to be eased. Enforcement lifted for visitors to Baja.

From my archive of press clippings:

San Diego News

Mexico's passport mandate to be eased


Enforcement lifted for visitors to Baja


By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER


Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.


A new Mexican government rule that U.S. visitors present passports when entering Mexico by land, sea and air will not be enforced at Baja California’s border crossings, authorities said Monday in Tijuana.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Francisco Javier Reynoso Nuño, the top federal immigration official in Baja California, said Mexico lacks the infrastructure to enforce the regulations at busy ports such as San Ysidro and Otay Mesa."

"The rules, set to go into effect March 1 in other parts of Mexico, will not be applied to short-term visitors along the northern border, Reynoso said. Likewise, cruise ship passengers who briefly disembark at Ensenada won’t be required to present a passport, he said."

"The announcement of the new rules has come as Mexico has worked to increase security at its ports of entry. The federal government is in the process of installing a new electronic inspection system, known as SIAVE, at its land border crossings as a means of detecting illegal weapons and other contraband.
Southbound border waits have been growing longer in recent months as a result of SIAVE. Business groups in both Baja California and San Diego complained that the additional immigration inspection would create even longer delays, and further stifle commerce and tourism on both sides."

&

"The regulations, announced this month by Mexico’s National Migration Institute, state that U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico “by air, land or sea” must present either a valid U.S. passport or passport card. U.S. permanent residents must also present documents proving their status.

Because of U.S. travel document requirements, most U.S. visitors to Mexico already carry passports or passport cards or trusted traveler documents such as SENTRI passes when crossing at the border."