the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, New Jersey school kids got a lesson in presidential security when three classmates who were visiting from other countries were barred from joining a White House tour.
A group of seventh-graders from Henry Hudson Regional School in Highlands braved a snowstorm on Nov. 15 for a long-awaited bus trip to Washington DC. Bad weather forced the cancelation of most of their trip including lunch on the White House lawn leaving only a visit to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Trip was planned months in advance, and the school had to send the White House visitors office a list of all students and adults expected to take the tour. After clearing the initial checkpoint, Secret Service agents stopped three Henry Hudson students who didn’t have their passports or other identification required for non-US citizens.
The White House “boarding pass,” similar to an airline boarding pass, is sent to visitors in advance. Specifically stated in the rules , is that “all foreign nationals … regardless of age” must present a passport, alien registration card, or US State Department-issued ID.
Henry Hudson administrators dropped the ball and apparently did not verify that all students had the right ID before hitting the road. Odd because in Europe where two of the students where from you need ID for everything and in places like New York City you can not even enter a building with out photo ID . According to sources the at least two students were from Sweden and one from Colombia.
When the Secret Service denied entry to the three kids, Principal Lenore Kingsmore stayed outside with them.
No story here. Rules are rules no matter who’s in the oval office.