| SENTRI: On guard at the southern border
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Most people know about those dedicated commuter lanes now so popular on toll roads in large metropolitan areas with outlying suburbs that seem to go on forever. You pay a fee, register your car's license plate, and roll on past the tollbooth as an electronic reader records your license plate. In the 21st century, what could be easier for the long-distance commuter?That same concept and almost identical technology are now being called into service to speed travelers across international borders.SENTRI, which stands for Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection, has been in place at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border since 1995. With dedicated commuter lanes and an automated system that allows motorists at selected southern land border ports to enter the United States more expediently, SENTRI is now serving more than 42,000 motorists.Travelers who wish to participate in SENTRI must first undergo a thorough background and vehicle check; once certified good to go - or, in the program's vernacular, low risk - these travelers can cross the Mexican border with ease for a year.SENTRI was almost a victim of its own success. After 9/11, travelers' interest in participating rose dramatically. This unexpected increase meant that processing times at the border, even for participants, also increased. Plus, certification was only good for a year, meaning motorists had to reapply annually.But on the last day of February 2003, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection extended the enrollment period to two years. This move has several benefits for participants and for the government: both the applicant and CBP will save considerable time on "paperwork" (or screen time), and the enrollment fee that had been good for a year will now only be due every two years. Everyone who now participates in the program has been automatically extended for two years from the date of his or her last enrollment. And the applications backlog, which had been contributing to increased waits at the border? Greatly reduced.The idea behind SENTRI is almost a mirror image of that behind a companion program on the northern border, NEXUS, between the United States and Canada (see U.S. Customs Today, October 2002.)For those in the southwest and the far north who must cross land borders regularly for jobs or other obligations, SENTRI and its younger sibling NEXUS are getting the same kind of welcome that dedicated commuter lanes between city and suburb are. |
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