How This Canadian Used an iPad to Cross the Border into America

A Canadian man recently used an iPad to cross the border—sans passport. Martin Reisch got through US Customs by proving his identity with his driver's license, then flashing the border office his iPad with a scanned copy of the passport.

Entrance into the US demands a hardcopy of one's passport, but Martin said the officer just "gave me a stare" and in the end "was very nice about it," according to a Globe and Mail article. Trent University professor Heather Nicol believes that there is "some wiggle room," noting that despite the alleged reliance on data sets, border officers base many of their decisions on the individual experiences they have with potential crossers.

Others, though, believe this is an isolated case and scanned copies will not work (this case being a very rare exception). New Democrat MP Brian Masse in Windsor says Martin "just got lucky" because him getting the thumbs up "runs counter to everything else that we've seen."

Martin, for one, voiced his advocation for making digital identification an official form of travel document. "It's just a matter of time," he told the Canadian Press.

Photo: CBC