Well the evidence is there on youtube if you'd like, lots and lots of videos of border patrol letting people go who show no ID at all. Seems to support the auditor's POV.
I have no dog in this fight, just an intellectual curiosity.
I have no dog in this fight, just an intellectual curiosity.
It would also only really apply at a land crossing, I imagine. You can't even get on a plane that's entering the US without showing your passport at the departure gate. At that point your only option if you really are without documentation is to find the nearest US consulate and get some travel papers.
You don't really have to "trust YT" here; there are plenty of videos of the encounters themselves, where people stubbornly refuse to answer the CBP agent's questions until the agent gives up and waves them through. Sure, you can argue that they're staged or something, but the sheer number of them would at least put some doubt on that claim.
My last flight to Seattle from Mexico a few weeks ago (also, note that I'm an LPR, and not a citizen) I walked up to the CBP immigration counter, looked at a webcam, the officer looked at his computer, said "[my name]?" "Yes." "You're good to go."
I had, of course, my passport and green card on me, but they were held by my side the entire time. He didn't ask for them.
/before people ask: I’m white my wife is Mexican.