US - Canada Border Crossings get RFID-Equipped this Summer

(AP Photo by Paul Sancya)

The US-Canada border crossings at Detroit, Port Huron and Sault Ste. Marie are undergoing upgrades over the next few months that will enable RFID security measures. Starting Monday (July 14), with the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit, MI USA and Windsor, ON Canada, construction on 39 of the busiest US borders with Canada and Mexico will have RFID readers installed.

The readers will also work to decrease travel times for people who use RFID-embedded identification. A new passport card, enhanced driver’s license and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) traveler cards for pre-screened travelers (Nexus, FAST and Sentri) are all part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), passed by congress in 2004.

The WHTI-compliant documents use RFID technology to process travelers with a single document, which provides both proof of citizenship and proof of identity quickly and accurately.

The cards have included security features to thwart counterfeiting and hacking. The passport card and enhanced licenses transmit a reference number that must match a CBP database in order to obtain the personal information included.

WHTI will be fully effective as of June 1, 2009. Until then, installation of the necessary components of the RFID system will be phased in at border crossings, including buried wires and readers.

The Department of State and Homeland Security (DHS) released the final rule on the WHTI earlier this year, “to give the public ample notice and time to obtain the WHTI-compliant documents they will need to enter or re-enter the United States on or after June 1, 2009.”

As of January 31 of this year, DHS stopped accepting oral declarations of citizenship without documentation proving both their identity and citizenship. DHS described this as “the beginning of a transition period intended to prepare the public for WHTI implementation… and obtain the appropriate documents.”

For more information on obtaining the new RFID-embedded identification documents, visit the Customs and Border Patrol Web site.

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Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you evaluate how RFID could enhance your operation. We provide comprehensive and customized RFID solutions from concept, through testing, to implementation!

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation Web site or call 248-473-2200. We offer an RFID Demo tour where you can experience the technology in action! You can visit us and request a tour of our facility at 23400 Industrial Park Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.