U.S. Customs and Border Protection Says Canadian Did NOT Cross Border Because of iPad
Earlier today we reported that Martin Reisch crossed the border thanks to his iPad, which had a scanned copy of his passport on it. Turns out that's not why he was allowed to get through after all.
Describing Martin's version of the tale as "categorically false," Customs spokeswoman Jenny Burke told the Canadian Press that—contrary to what Martin stated to media—he handed his border officer both a driver's license and a birth certificate in addition to his iPad, which was sufficient to confirm his identity and gain entry into the U.S. without a hardcopy passport.
The most popular comment, by far, on a Globe and Mail article covering the story suggests that "the border guard was being nice and doing the guy a favour" but Martin—a "jerk" who "made a b-line [sic] to the media and babbled"—likely got the guard "in trouble and ruined things for everything else." Do you think this highly publicized story will up the ante on border security now?
Original story:
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
