US to tighten border controls by 2008

Americans would need passports to come home to the United States by 2008 under guidelines proposed Tuesday, the latest effort to deter terrorists from entering the country.

Across the country, the proposal drew mixed reaction from those who use the crossings with Canada and Mexico. Some say people will simply adapt to the new rules the way they have other changes, while others worry that requiring passports could cause delays or make them less likely to cross.

The guidelines don't concern Shirley Foran, who always carries her passport, birth certificate and Michigan driver's license when she makes one of her half-dozen or so trips a year across the Detroit River to Canada.

It's a quick drive -- traffic permitting -- to Windsor, Ontario, where restaurants and Casino Windsor are among the attractions for day-trippers. "I don't want them to change the rules when I'm in the other country," Foran said.

But Johanna Hitcome, who spent a few hours Tuesday at the Fort Erie Race Track and Slots in Ontario, predicted the requirement would end excursions to Canada for many. The Detroit-Windsor crossings are the busiest links between the United States and Canada.

"It would restrict a lot of people," said Hitcome, 68, of Lakewood in Chautauqua County, N.Y. "The idea of getting a passport is too mind-boggling," she said.