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Comment by tenpies | Hacker News Reader

> unable to legally leave the country

Just a small distinction: you are free to legally leave the US at any time. The US has no exit controls[1]. They do not even monitor who leaves at all, so they have no real idea or care, about who is leaving the country. It is perfectly legal to leave the US without a US passport, or any type of passport or ID.

Now the countries that share borders with the US, may not let you enter through a legal port of entry, but the US is not stopping you from leaving.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_control#Exit_controls

This freedom should not be taken for granted, as countries accross the entire spectrum of tyranny do monitor exits - from China to the Schengen Area countries, and many in-between.

And if you want to see it taken a step further, scroll down to the exit permit system, where it would be illegal for you to leave your own country, unless you have an exit visa.

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Any US citizen HAS to leave the US with their nationality. That’s the law.

U.S. citizens must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. This requirement is outlined in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, specifically 22 CFR 53.1. It states that a U.S. citizen must possess a valid U.S. passport to depart from or enter the United States unless they meet certain exceptions. This law ensures that U.S. citizens are properly documented for international travel, facilitating legal entry and exit from the country.

While the law does indeed state that, there are no penalties whatsoever defined for breaking the law, so there are literally no consequences for doing so.

https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/85389/what-is-the...

It's completely unenforced. When exiting the US no American authority checks what passport you are using to leave, and when entering they are legally required to let Americans reenter the country. At worst the border guard will be cranky and give you a stern lecture about how you are supposed to use your US passport.

Right, but the only punishment for failing to comply is reprimand and delay at the entrance while trying to verify citizenship. The latest publicly available CBP Inspector's Field manual is unequivocal that if the Inspector is convinced the entrant is an American citizen they cannot stop them from entering.

The law really exists as a way to avoid delays at entry as a US citizen having a valid US passport can be processed in much faster than one who does not, and it minimizes the risk of being stuck with an immigration agent that does not belive your claims of being an American citizen due to lacking convincing records and documents.

American Citizens are not the only ones with an unequivocal right to enter. American Indians born in Canada who have are at least 50% American Indian by blood "cannot be denied admission to the United States". They are required to prove to the inspector that they meet this criteria, but if they do, they don't need a passport or anything. (But they probably needed some documents to convince the inspector of their status as a 50%+ native born in Canada.)

> the US is not stopping you from leaving

That's true, but it doesn't help much because I can't just leave. I have to go somewhere. No airline nor cruise ship will allow me to board an international flight or cruise without a passport, nor will Canada allow me to enter without one. That leaves Mexico. So yes, I suppose I could go to Mexico, but then I could not return.

you don't have a passport from Germany?

Why can’t you enter Canada on your German passport?

Probably, but then I couldn't come back.

An odd thing: Canadians can enter the Turks & Caicos islands (a British Overseas Territory) without a passport. I know that because my partner discovered that her passport had expired, the night before our trip. It took some time at the immigration desk (both coming and going), but in the end she was able to travel.

This is quite the recent removal then. I recall browsing a US government website around the start of the covid pandemic where one could check your entry and exit record.

They do keep track of when you leave by commercial air or sea, and I think there are data sharing partnerships with Canada/Mexico as well. Not sure if they keep track for citizens though, since there's no immigration enforcement reason for that.

They're working on an "entry data is automatically sent to other country as exit data" system with Canada. I'm not sure they've got any decent partnership with Mexico currently, though I know they've been negotiating.

In Costa Rica, anyone can request information on your entrance and exits to the country. It is considered public information.

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