statement today from the dept. of homeland security:
Washington - The assertion that a traveler was admitted into the U.S. using solely a scanned image of his passport on an iPad is categorically false. In this case, the individual had both a driver's license and birth certificate, which the CBP officer used to determine identity and citizenship in order to admit the traveler into the country.
http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/01042012_2.xml
btw, i frequently cross the border @ detroit and since they absolutely do require a passport or other authorized doc -which it sounds like this guy didn't have- i honestly don't know how he got through. canadians were told to
have and use a passport b/c it was required by US law now.