Oct. 7 – A new immigration law that was to go into effect Oct. 1 could cause delays for truckers entering or leaving the United States.
The law, Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996, requires the Immigration and Naturalization Service to keep a record of all foreigners departing and arriving in the United States so it can identify those overstaying their visas. But government officials planned no changes at the border because the law would create a traffic nightmare.
The INS said it would not change its inspection procedures at the border while Congress considers reworking the law this month. Michigan lawmakers have said the checks would slow border traffic to a crawl and hurt trade, and are pushing for a repeal of the law.
A repeal of the law passed the Senate, but the House voted to delay the law for another year.
Auto haulers estimate delays could add a cost of more than $2,000 per truck, per crossing, Martin Rojas of Americans for Better Borders told the Toronto Star. “If you’re sitting in a line for 17 hours, you probably need three drivers: one to get there, one to sit in line and one to take over.”