Nineteen American senators are urging their government to scrap a new rule that will require travellers to show proof of citizenship and a photo identification card when entering the United States by car, boat, or on foot.

The new rule takes effect on Thursday.

The senators wrote a letter to Michael Chertoff, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, asking him to continue to allow travellers to cross land and sea borders with an official government-issued photo I.D., such as a driver's licence.

As has always been practice, travellers would have to verbally state their citizenship, but would not have to prove it with a birth certificate, citizenship card or other piece of official documentation, as the new rule requires.

"While we understand the department's desire for greater documentation of travellers coming through our nation's borders, we seriously question the timing of this dramatic policy change," the letter stated.

The senators — led by Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Charles Schumer of New York — said Homeland Security should hold off on any changes until June 2009, when the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative goes into effect and passports are required to cross all U.S. borders.

In their letter, the senators argued there's no sense in having an interim measure requiring citizenship proof, especially when the interim rule has not been well-publicized.

Instead, the senators said the government should focus on getting ready for the June 2009 passport deadline, and preparing secure passport cards that travellers can use when the deadline arrives.

"The new interim procedures are a recipe for long lines at our nation's border crossings and reduced flow of commerce with no clear increase in security," the senators wrote.

8,000 varieties of birth certificates exist

The senators argued that birth certificates are not a great piece of identification, because there are more than 8,000 different kinds of birth certificates that have been issued by various U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

"Determining the authenticity of a birth certificate provided at the border is a daunting task for our already overstretched [border] agents," the senators said.

But as of late Monday, the Department of Homeland Security was still going ahead with its plans to demand proof of citizenship, and had a fact sheet posted online outlining the citizenship papers that are considered acceptable.

The citizenship proof rule comes almost four years after the U.S. government adopted the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks. The first phase of the initiative took place Jan. 23, 2007, when passports were required for all travellers entering the United States by air.

The second phase, requiring passports for land and sea crossings, has been delayed by the U.S. government several times. The rules were first going to come into effect in January 2008, then they were bumped to the summer of 2008, before being pushed back again to June 2009.

In addition to Leahy, Stevens and Schumer, the other senators demanding the citizenship proof rule be cancelled are from the following states:

  • Ohio (2 senators)
  • Minnesota (2 senators)
  • Maine (2 senators)
  • Idaho (2 senators)
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Michigan
  • Alaska
  • Washington
  • Vermont
  • New Hampshire
  • Connecticut