Should I bring my Passport while traveling on Amtrak?

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Joined
Jul 10, 2022
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I recently got my American passport after 20 years of legal residence in this country, I'm SE Asian, I have a thick accent and I got stopped once in Vermont, and twice in Southern Texas places where I knew law enforcement happens. I know in the heartland that might not happen, but I'm concerned about not delaying the train again as I did before because of questioning.

Thank you!
 
I recently got my American passport after 20 years of legal residence in this country, I'm SE Asian, I have a thick accent and I got stopped once in Vermont, and twice in Southern Texas places where I knew law enforcement happens. I know in the heartland that might not happen, but I'm concerned about not delaying the train again as I did before because of questioning.

Thank you!
Why would you want not to bring it? Even if you're not legally required to carry it, IMHO a passport is always a good thing to have when traveling. Just lock it in the hotel safe at your destination if you're worried about it being lost or stolen.
 
I recently got my American passport after 20 years of legal residence in this country, I'm SE Asian, I have a thick accent and I got stopped once in Vermont, and twice in Southern Texas places where I knew law enforcement happens. I know in the heartland that might not happen, but I'm concerned about not delaying the train again as I did before because of questioning.

Thank you!

I have found it to be a good idea to have proof of citizenship with you. I always have my Passport Card in my wallet.

This is nothing specific to Amtrak or Missouri or anything like that. It is just the way things are and I have been a citizen for 30+ years now.
 
Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe our Gestapo is able to run a checkpoint or random sweep without probable cause outside of the 100-mile perimeter. Unfortunately, courts have allowed that to include shorelines and ports of entry, so CBP has always pushed the envelope. I have an enhanced Driver's License which a small number of states issue (citizenship required, not available for permanent res) that is accepted for land/sea border crossing so it is a moot point for me, but I wouldn't carry a passport on general principle. Of course, I am in a category much less subject to profiling, which of course they swear does not exist.
 
I think if you buy your Amtrak tickets online you may be required to prove your ID. Ditto if you are buying alcohol. But any ID should be sufficient for this. A passport is maybe not strictly necessary (and obviously not everybody even has a passport, so any requirement to carry one would be unenforceable anyway).

But on the other hand, if you have a passport and if you are concerned about being stopped (or even already had negative experiences), its always better to be safe than sorry. Some cops can regrettably be very obstinate sometimes and can sometimes exceed their powers and directives. Regrettably they are also stronger than you, so it may not always be worth starting an argument, even if you are right and they are wrong. Fortunately the bad cops are mostly a minority. But that doesn't help you if you run into one. If you elect to have your passport with you, just be sure to carry it in a safe place, preferably on your person, so it doesn't get lost or stolen.
 
As I have mentioned above, get a Passport Card to carry in your wallet and leave the Passport Book at home. If you happen to have a Global Entry Card that should also work to convey information about your citizenship and permanent resident status (in case you are not a citizen but are a permanent resident).

But, as stated above, know that there is no legal requirement to carry such a document. It is done merely to avoid problems when officialdom choose to stretch the boundaries of legality in the middle of a cornfield or some such.
 
Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe our Gestapo is able to run a checkpoint or random sweep without probable cause outside of the 100-mile perimeter. Unfortunately, courts have allowed that to include shorelines and ports of entry, so CBP has always pushed the envelope. I have an enhanced Driver's License which a small number of states issue (citizenship required, not available for permanent res) that is accepted for land/sea border crossing so it is a moot point for me, but I wouldn't carry a passport on general principle. Of course, I am in a category much less subject to profiling, which of course they swear does not exist.
In a deleted thread the same OP was asking how to avoid being caught overstaying a US visa (for a friend). He seems to be rewording the same question in a less obvious way here. His interest in Amtrak seems to be focused on how well it can protect him (or a friend) from being caught. I'm no fan of the CBP but if I was overstaying my visa in another country I'd (1) keep my mouth shut and (2) never assume actual citizens and residents would support my scofflaw status.
 
As I have mentioned above, get a Passport Card to carry in your wallet and leave the Passport Book at home. If you happen to have a Global Entry Card that should also work to convey information about your citizenship and permanent resident status (in case you are not a citizen but are a permanent resident).

But, as stated above, know that there is no legal requirement to carry such a document. It is done merely to avoid problems when officialdom choose to stretch the boundaries of legality in the middle of a cornfield or some such.

There are a few other card-sized documents that are considered proof of US citizenship or at least legal status to be in the United States. Enhanced driver license/ID, NEXUS, or SENTRI where they indicate US citizenship. Those can get a little bit complicated because Canadians and Mexicans can get them, and also US permanent residents.

TSA_ID_Card.jpg


Obviously a green card is considered proof of legal status, and federal law mandates that an adult permanent resident be in possession of one at all times (not sure what that means, like at the beach or whatnot). I hear the possession law isn't terribly well enforced by the federal government though.

(e) Personal possession of registration or receipt card; penalties​

Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d). Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.​
 
I do believe that D-A pointed out accurately the genesis of this thread. I stand by my opinion about my legal rights as a citizen in that scenario but do understand that those do not apply to those not in that category. And obviously, anyone who is not in the country with some legal status does so at their own risk.
 
I always have my Passport Card in my wallet.
Same here. I usually have my passport book with me on my travels as well.

Funny enough, once when I was questioned by Amtrak police (for suspiciously wanting to travel on Amtrak ;) they wanted to see a state ID after I gave them my passport card. They wanted me to prove that I lived in the state that I said I lived in.
 
Same here. I usually have my passport book with me on my travels as well.

Funny enough, once when I was questioned by Amtrak police (for suspiciously wanting to travel on Amtrak ;) they wanted to see a state ID after I gave them my passport card. They wanted me to prove that I lived in the state that I said I lived in.
Yeah. Proving residence is a separate matter from proving citizenship.

Quite odd situations can arise. Once a INS Agent (decades before CBP came about) at EWR wanted me to prove that I worked in the US and accepted my Bell Labs Id Card for that purpose! I was then in transition from H-1 to Green Card back in the mid-'80s. I did not have the card yet but I had the approval stamped in my Passport, which was a spanking new Passport with only the approval stamp in it. I can see why he wanted to do what he did. But there was no legal requirement for me to carry my company Id with me. I just did, just in case needed for something. And it made a potentially very long conversation quite short.

But I am afraid this is a bit off topic and I might have to moderate myself soon.
 
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I do believe that D-A pointed out accurately the genesis of this thread. I stand by my opinion about my legal rights as a citizen in that scenario but do understand that those do not apply to those not in that category. And obviously, anyone who is not in the country with some legal status does so at their own risk.

I believe in general the issue is about how any federal immigration enforcement knows that someone isn't a US citizen. Even someone with an accent may not be a good guide as many are US citizens via jus soli but were raised in another country. Obviously they do various raids and at the very least make arrests pending further identification. It's not typical that a US citizen gets mistakenly deported, although I've heard of it happening before. But it's more about the inconvenience when someone is taken to an office for questioning. They're the ones with the badges and guns, so arguing with them about one's rights doesn't necessarily help that much.
 
Yeah. Proving residence is a separate matter from proving citizenship.

Quite odd situations can arise. Once a INS Agent at EWR wanted me to prove that I worked in the US and accepted my Bell Labs Id Card for that purpose! I was then in transition from H-1 to Green Card back in the mid-'80s. I did not have the card yet but I had the approval stamped in my Passport, which was a spanking new Passport with only the approval stamp in it. I can see why he wanted to do what he did. But there was no legal requirement for me to carry my company Id with me. I just did, just in case needed for something. And it made a potentially very long conversation quite short.

But I am afraid this is a bit off topic and I might have to moderate myself soon.

Sure. All the theoretical discussion of one's rights can meet with practical discussions of what happens in the real world. My passport card is actually expired (long story), but the irony is that it's still legally considered proof that I'm a US citizen. I can't use it as a travel document, but I do have my Real ID compliant driver license, along with the passport card.

I've heard of some US citizens in border states who found passport cards to be extremely convenient. When my wife was pregnant and we were in the hospital for a false alarm, one of the nurses (Mexican-American originally from Tucson who sounded very American) mentioned for some reason that there were issues with US citizens of Hispanic backgrounds being suspected of being undocumented and they might carry something to prove that they were US citizens.
 
Has anyone witnessed any kind of immigration enforcement action on Amtrak? I think that might be one of the concerns for why one might want to carry proof of citizenship just for domestic travel.
 
Immigration enforcement and Border Patrol and Customs functions are 3 separate functions. Even though the creation of DHs put the groups together as CBP, they are still essentially operated separately, with different uniforms, hiring and training, and missions Without moving into the realm of politics, I'm not sure that there is really anything else left to say on this topic. Different areas of the country see and treat these things very differently. Where I live, law enforcement will not do the work of the Feds, and immigration status would not be on the table except in the case of a serious crime. That is not the case in other areas. I think we've sort of hit the end of the line on the original topic.
 
Ohio has recently required all drivers' licenses' to be the enhanced versions and so traveling with that is much easier than with a passport. Never took passport on Amtrak rides, but can see how the poster would want some additional documentation. But we always take our passport when we take cruises or any trips outside US.
 
Has anyone witnessed any kind of immigration enforcement action on Amtrak? I think that might be one of the concerns for why one might want to carry proof of citizenship just for domestic travel.
Yes, they used to hop in in Syracuse wasting everyone's time asking people what country they are from. It was generally perceived as a fishing expedition hoping to find some other illegal activity so they could justify their existence. They caused too many delays and were basically told (NY Congressional delegation hammered them) the trains were going to start leaving with or without them aboard. I have seen them at Depew as well, but at least that is near a border. They just hung around the station looking at who was waiting for the train.
 
Ohio has recently required all drivers' licenses' to be the enhanced versions and so traveling with that is much easier than with a passport. Never took passport on Amtrak rides, but can see how the poster would want some additional documentation. But we always take our passport when we take cruises or any trips outside US.
I believe Ohio is now Real ID compliant which is different than Enhanced. Real Id is not WHTI Compliant for borders. A legal resident in many categories can get Real ID licensing, only a citizen can get enhanced. Most states do not issue "enhanced"
 
I used to work quite a bit with CBP, in the international arrivals area of my airport. Some were jerks, yes, but in general they're pretty good folks and not ***holes. Now, I also had cause to interact with the CET teams on the field and they're a different group. The classic 'bad cop' stereotype to the life. Obnoxious, go out of their way to intimidate, annoying in the extreme, and purposely looking to find someone to give trouble to; they literally seem to enjoy bad behavior. Oh, are we delaying your flight? Don't care. Border patrol is similar.
 
Has anyone witnessed any kind of immigration enforcement action on Amtrak? I think that might be one of the concerns for why one might want to carry proof of citizenship just for domestic travel.
Yes, on the Lake Shore Limited they made a sweep of the train asking everyone if they were a US citizen. I’m not sure which agency they were with, this was many years ago.
 
Only Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, & Washington currently offer EDL's.

https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they
I used to work quite a bit with CBP, in the international arrivals area of my airport. Some were jerks, yes, but in general they're pretty good folks and not ***holes. Now, I also had cause to interact with the CET teams on the field and they're a different group. The classic 'bad cop' stereotype to the life. Obnoxious, go out of their way to intimidate, annoying in the extreme, and purposely looking to find someone to give trouble to; they literally seem to enjoy bad behavior. Border patrol is similar.
I once tried to rest near a highway that passed through our 100-mile-thick "border zone." After the third aggressive patrol visit in less than an hour I gave up and resumed driving despite my exhaustion. I rarely have problems on arrival but sometimes they get snippy with me. The way they treat others surprises me more. For instance they once went ballistic on a family taking pictures of their own child as they waited in a slow line. CBP reacted as if it was some sort of advanced tactical espionage. I guess it never occurred to them to ask for the phone and look at the photos without making a huge scene.
 
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The state of Washington is one of those who issue enhanced driver's licenses. When I first got mine, in 2014, I ran into unexpected problems: amongst the documents required was a birth certificate issued by the state health department rather than the one by the hospital. And in doing so discovered that my first name on the state issued birth certificate was different that on my original from the hospital. Since the one from the hospital took precedence, I had been going by the wrong name according to the health department for the first 54 years of my life!!!😲😁🤣. With a few more documents I was able to get a new birth certificate from the department of health with the correct spelling.

All that to say the enhanced license is all I really need as I don't care to go to any other country except Canada and the license works fine for crossing into Canada.
 
The state of Washington is one of those who issue enhanced driver's licenses. When I first got mine, in 2014, I ran into unexpected problems: amongst the documents required was a birth certificate issued by the state health department rather than the one by the hospital. And in doing so discovered that my first name on the state issued birth certificate was different that on my original from the hospital. Since the one from the hospital took precedence, I had been going by the wrong name according to the health department for the first 54 years of my life!!!😲😁🤣. With a few more documents I was able to get a new birth certificate from the department of health with the correct spelling.

All that to say the enhanced license is all I really need as I don't care to go to any other country except Canada and the license works fine for crossing into Canada.

They still refuse to issue standard Real ID driver licenses and IDs. The difficulty is that permanent residents aren't eligible for the enhanced DL/ID, although I heard that they justify this by stating that permanent residents already have their green cards and are required to carry them anyways.

I know a few Washington state residents who are US permanent residents.

I guess Real ID isn't exactly the same as proof of status since something like permanent residency is up for renewal, but Real ID can renew indefinitely. Not sure if there's any requirement to recheck documents.
 
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