Editorial: Poor security planning

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007 | 7:46 a.m.

With stepped - up border-crossing requirements delaying Americans' re-entry into the United States and new security clearance policies bogging down the hiring process at the nation's airports, the Bush administration's Homeland Security Department is showing - again - that it cannot adequately do its job.

New passport measures at U.S. borders, mandated by antiterrorism legislation that Congress passed in 2004, require Americans to show passports or other photo identification proving citizenship when returning to the United States at the Canada and Mexico land border crossings. U.S. residents used to be able to return to this country from adjacent nations by showing a driver's license or birth certificate.

The mandate doesn 't officially start until January, but the Border Patrol has started asking for the identification as a "dress rehearsal" to help Americans prepare for the rules, The New York Times reported Sunday. Agents also have increased random background checks on travelers.

However, many border stations are outmoded and ill - prepared to handle the increased work, agents told the Times. As a result, Americans face frustrating hourslong waits at U.S. border stations in Mexico and Canada. Citizens who live in one country and work in the other must endure such waits daily in some communities.

As if that situation isn't bad enough, USA Today reported Monday that air travelers might find services lacking in the nation's airports because the Transportation Security Administration is not prepared to handle newly mandated background checks for all airport employees, including custodians and store clerks. The checks must be completed before people start work, but often take so long that prospective airport employees find jobs elsewhere before the checks are completed.

Randy Walker, director of McCarran International Airport, told USA Today that the policy, which took effect Oct. 1, has caused "2 1/2 weeks of turmoil."

These situations are infuriating. The Homeland Security Department has known about some of these important safeguards since 2004, yet still lacks adequate plans or resources for carrying them out. This is no way to secure our nation.