WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- Texas lawmakers have said changing the rules so U.S. citizens have to show a passport to get back into the country from Mexico will hurt border towns.
The policy change, announced last week by the Department of Homeland Security, will "really rock border communities back on their heels," Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, told United Press International.
Currently, U.S. citizens can show one of dozens of forms of acceptable ID at the border. But under the new rules -- which will be phased in over the next three years -- they will need a passport.
"Passports are expensive," said Cathy Travis, spokeswoman for Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Texas, adding that additional delays at border crossings would hurt businesses that rely on trade with Mexico.
Travis said that Ortiz, who is chair of the bi-partisan border caucus in the U.S. House, was preparing a letter to the secretaries of state and homeland security, protesting the proposed change.
