While I was in Arizona, I crossed the border into Mexico (on Memorial Day), something I had not done for years. For the first time in my life I was walking into Mexico with a proof of citizenship requirement, a concept I found utterly bizarre.
I grew up in San Diego and crossing into Mexico was pretty much a weekly activity. We would go to dinner in Tijuana or go to Ensenada for the day. One of my first memories is attending one of my dad’s concerts in Mexicali and discovering that Mexico had pretty good Chinese food (there was also a horrible incident with an anchovy, but I digress). We had a beach home in Baja for most of my childhood. We RARELY carried citizenship papers with us. I’m not even sure such a thing was required. But, these days they technically are, and I had nothing on me that met the requirements. The fact is, I don’t even have a current passport, and my birth certificate was barely legible the last time I saw it – which was years ago. We decided to go anyway and chance it. I figured that if they actually had to go through the process of verifying my citizenship it wouldn’t take very long.
So, I followed my dad through the labrynthine foot crossing at Nogales, listening as he pointed out where he had an office and whether or not they were actually using the biometric device he had worked on. We poked through the stores. My dad bought Controy; I found some knick knacks. Then we headed out. As we waited in line, I noticed many people had their passports out and ready. When we were next my dad told me to move far enough forward so that he could get through the gate too. I handed the agent my drivers license. He gave me a slightly annoyed look. He looked at my dad’s passport and dismissed us without a word. I didn’t even get the informational document about crossing requirements.
“Hasseling us would have been a hassle for him” was my dad’s logic, nodding his head at the growing holiday line. I guess that’s probably true. I certainly didn’t want to spend any more time there than necessary, and was perfectly happy to walk back into the US. I’m not sure if a year from now when the requirements become more stringent I will even attempt this.
I just can’t help wondering if the situation would have been differenet if I had been alone. Or had less of a WASP name or appearance. Was it really due to holiday traffic? If so , what’s the point of having requirements if they’re going to be blown off because someone seems a low “threat” and there’s a line? This sort of inconsistency happens all the time, and it does little to encourage me. These are in place, supposedly, to make me feel safe (though I think many of them go overboard and really have a different agenda). That they are so easily bypassed does little to make me feel comfortable.
Tags: vacation
