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Comment by untog | Hacker News Reader

...and if you don't have a green card?

If you're on a visa, you should download the PDF of your I-94 (they've been all electronic since 2013) from the CBP's website.

Either print and carry the I-94 around with you, or save the PDF of it to your phone (and hope you have battery life if you ever get stopped by these people).

If you're a citizen, my understanding is that you only have to show some form of ID (e.g. a driver's license).

So what about if you provide ID and they still detain you for three weeks anyway?

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2019/07/22/dalla...

so did you read it? his mom is illegal his brother is illegal and another riding in the same car is illegal. they crossed the border and got questioned. they tried verifying his info but his mom put a false name on his birth certificate, claimed he was born in mexico before and got him a visitors visa from mexico to the US when he was a minor.

so it sucks he stayed there so long but are you gonna say this is normal? can you find any case where a legal person with no false papers or illegal family members while crossing the border got detained?

I guess someone could show a driver license as it requires a bunch of prove-your-identity documents to get, at least in my state.

Depends on the state - many (most? all?) states let people on temporary visas get a drivers license, and don't tie the period of validity together. But more importantly, since there is no system to revoke a drivers license if your immigration status is revoked, a drivers license can only be used as proof that you were able to show legal status in the past, not that you have it now.

> and don't tie the period of validity together

That seems... foolish? Like allowing a root/intermediate CA to sign leaf certs to be valid after their own expiration.

Not exactly. It's more like, your email account at work doesn't automatically deactivate when you die. They're totally separate systems with different requirements.

Some states (like California) allow illegal immigrants to still attain driver licenses.

If it's a Real ID, then the federal government has a database with the documents you used to get it so they can quickly see your US or foreign citizenship and easily find your record from there.

Do you mean physically? They can lookup your information. Same thing when you lose your wallet/license and get stopped by police.

I meant more if you are not a green card holder. Could be on a visa, or just a tourist. "Just show your green card" isn't a valid answer for everyone

Then show your visa. Proper paperwork and identification is required for everyone, citizens included.

Is there federal law that mandates citizens to carry ID?

It's not illegal to not have ID as a citizen, but several states and federal cases have upheld requirements that you must identify yourself when necessary, which is effectively the same thing.

The point is that you must have clear legal status and documentation, whether that's physically on you as a person (for green card holders) or available to be looked up (for everyone).

What if ICE thinks it's fake? What if they don't believe you are a tourist?

All of this relies on a judgement call by ICE, and many people do not trust their judgements. Not unjustifiably.

They look up your information. This is done millions of times every day by law enforcement. The physical ID just speeds up the process. It's not a "judgement call" to believe you or not when it comes to identification.

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