Schumer Releases: "The Worst Of Both Worlds" Report Detailing How Dhs's Ill-Devised Plan Brings Poor Security And Long Delays To Ny State's Northern Border

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Schumer Releases: "The Worst Of Both Worlds" Report Detailing How Dhs's Ill-Devised Plan Brings Poor Security And Long Delays To Ny State's Northern Border

Report Shines Light on Sec. Chertoff's Pattern of Double-talk, Details his Own Past Testimony Questioning the Security and Efficiency of Using Birth Certificates

Report Documents Instances where Criminals Have Been Arrested Using Forged Birth Certificates When Traveling into the United States

Report Details How Already-Long Waits at the Northern Border Will, in Chertoff's Words, "Only Grow Worse" Under the New Restrictions

With new border restrictions going into affect today along New York State's northern border that jeopardize cross-border commerce without improving security, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released a report titled "The Worst of Both Worlds" detailing the plan's shortcomings. Despite repeated warnings from Schumer and fellow members of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has insisted on forcing New Yorkers traveling between Canada and the United States to show a birth certificate or other document as proof of citizenship, a plan that is plagued by security problems and can create long waits at the border.

Making matters worse, the Secretary of DHS, Michael Chertoff, in public statements, has personally stressed security concerns surrounding easy-to-forge birth certificates and has also recently admitted border waits will grow worse under the new rule.

Schumer, who has relentlessly pressured DHS to delay the birth certificate requirement until the more secure and convenient People Access Security Service (PASS) Cards or enhanced drivers' licenses are available for all New Yorkers, today issued a report titled "The Worst of Both Worlds."

The goal of the report is to offer a concise summary of how the birth certificate plan will both fail to enhance New York State's border security and cause long backlogs that threaten cross-border commerce. The report also outlines the double talk Secretary Chertoff has displayed in insisting on implementing a requirement that he himself admitted posed risks of insecurity and inefficiency.

"The Department of Homeland Security has decided to toss logic to the wind to ram this ill-devised restriction down the throat of our border communities," said Senator Schumer. "Plain and simple, this plan is the worst of both worlds: it promotes the use of easy-to-forge documents to travel into our country, and it threatens to create huge backlogs at our border communities that stifle cross-border commerce. The Department should be focusing its energies on developing new documents that will be both secure and efficient."

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer

THE WORST OF BOTH WORLDS

Schumer Report on Chertoff's Hypocrisy and DHS's ill-devised plan that will bring longer wait times and increased security threats to NY State's northern border

A. Chertoff Himself Admits That Birth Certificates Are Easy to Forge and Will Cause Wait Times to Skyrocket

At a June 20, 2007 press conference, Chertoff used birth certificates to illustrate the need for secure and machine-readable documents. He presented four binders filled just with birth certificates issued by counties in Texas to show that it is time-consuming and nearly impossible for border guards to pick out fraudulent documents:

"But right now at the land and seaports we're talking about 8,000 different kinds of documentation…What it means is that there's no way that even the most accomplished Customs and Border Protection officer can be familiar with all those documents and in a position to quickly confirm whether they are real or fake. That puts us at a disadvantage because it leaves the door open for the rampant use of fraudulent documents. It forces officers to eyeball individual documents to try to figure out if these 8,000 documents are legitimate or illegitimate. That slows down the process of crossing the border. And all of this amounts to a greater increase in the risk to our nation and to our citizens."

In an AP article on January 17, 2008, Chertoff himself said that longer lines at the border as a result of the new policy are inevitable.

"Until people get the message, there will be some delays."

B. Ability to Forge Birth Certificates Will Threaten Security Across Upstate

- A simple Internet search will turn up multiple websites from which fraudulent "birth certificates" can be purchased that are not easily identified as fake or novelty documents. It is even possible to purchase false certificates that are "certified" with a raised seal that gives the appearance of authenticity.

- It takes more time for border guards to examine documents like birth certificates than to swipe machine-readable documents like the new PASS Cards or enhanced drivers' licenses that will soon be available.

- According to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2000, fraudulent birth certificates are used as "breeder documents" to obtain genuine documents needed to create new identities:

- 6,422 different entities nationwide issue birth certificates. The large number of entities that issue birth certificates creates opportunities for fraud, theft, bribery, and other methods of illegally obtaining birth certificates;
- Thirteen states allow "open" access to birth records, which allows virtually anyone to purchase copies of any birth certificates on file; and
- Birth certificates can be purchased without identification from some vital records offices and issuing entities.

- The same report detailed how difficult birth certificate fraud is to detect:

- Over 14,000 different versions of birth certificates are in circulation;

- Security features contained in the paper used to issue birth certificates, as well as formats and signatures, vary among State vital records offices and the many local entities issuing them;

- Technological advances in the Internet, scanners, color printers, and copiers make it easier to obtain genuine birth certificates and create counterfeit ones; and

- Between 85 and 90 percent of the birth certificate fraud encountered by the Immigration and Naturalization Services and Passport Services staff is the result of genuine birth certificates held by imposters -- the most difficult fraud to detect.

C. Focusing on Staffing Levels and Training, As Well As Developing New Secure and Machine-Readable Documents, Would be More Effective Step in Addressing Both Security and Wait Times at Border Crossings

- Most border crossings are by land, putting significant stress on staffing levels. In FY2005, 74% of border crossings were by land (317,765,246 entries), 20% were by air (86,123,406 entries), and 6% were by sea (26,228,248). CBP staff members work hard, but have too few resources to handle this constant influx of people, causing wait times to skyrocket and security to falter.

- A 2007 GAO Report highlighted CBP understaffing and other issues that affect the quality of border inspections. Addressing the staffing shortfalls and gaps in training would be a more effective course of action in securing our borders.

"CBP officials showed us a videotape that identified numerous examples of officers not establishing the nationality of individuals and their eligibility for entering the country as required by law."

"The results of the staffing model indicate that CBP may need anywhere from about 1,700 to about 5,000 additional officers at ports of entry…. Not having sufficient staff… makes it difficult for ports of entry to fully carry out anti-terrorism and other traveler inspection programs. The problems are exacerbated by difficulties in retaining experienced staff."

- The GAO testified before Congress in August 2006 (GAO-06-976T) on an undercover investigation where they tried to enter the United States using fake birth certificates and licenses that they created with commercially available software. They were successful at all nine ports of entry they tried, including two in New York. The GAO investigators presented fake birth certificates several times during the investigation, and the CBP officers on duty never recognized them as fakes. The GAO concluded that "our periodic tests since 2002 clearly show that CBP officers are unable to effectively identify counterfeit driver's licenses, birth certificates, and other documents."

- The San Diego Union-Times reported in 2005 that the FBI had caught a Mexican man who successfully used a fake birth certificate to get hired by the CBP and who then used his position to smuggle undocumented aliens across the border. If the agency can't even recognize birth certificate fraud among its job applicants, how will it weed out fraudulent documents from among thousands of border travelers?

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