If you're going to do it, say it right.

a driver's license and Social Security card, but neither proves citizenship as both can be faked.

Toting around birth certificates is ridiculous.

how would you be able to prove citizenship?

I think I will get on a bus with my Irish passport and when asked to show my papers, will tell them to F off and call the Irish Embassy.

In Trump's America, confronting an armed cop with nothing but the law on your side can have fatal consequences. You could end up dead right.

Nazi bastards. Are we still wearing safety pins? I have one on my purse and one on each jacket.

Didn’t see any of the white people asked for ID.

is not America.

What the hell was border patrol doing there??

I really miss democracy.

it's been with several different banks because they kept merging

they said the government requires us to keep up to date information. okay

they asked if I was a citizen. yes.

Do i have foreign bank accounts. No.

They asked my income and source.

As if the government doesn't have all that info? I file a tax return, I have a passport.
They learned nothing new for their phishing expedition.

Sounds to me like they are crosschecking databases, and requiring banks to provide
one set of info.

1) Birth Certificate only proves you're born here. But doesn't stop you from relinquishing your citizenship and become a citizen of a different country. So Birth Certificate is not a document that proves citizenship.
2) Social Security Card only proves you're working here legally if it's real or illegal if you can make a faked SS card. Again SS Card is not a document that proves citizenship.
3) Drivers License is issued state by state. No possible way this could be a citizenship document.
4) Passport is probably the closest anyone could get to verify citizenship, but the State Department can issue a passport to non-US citizens at its discretion. Besides, it is not mandatory that we all get a passport. In fact, I used to have one, but it expired in 2001 and I've gone without one ever since. Passport does not prove citizenship.

So, what document does everyone have that can be considered proof of citizenship?

I don't know of any.

to issue a passport.

A Driver License shows identity and residence. A birth certificate proves citizenship - place and time of birth.

It does mean the person is entitled to citizenship but
it doesn't stop you from relinquishing your U.S. citizenship
and become a citizen of a different country.

So Birth Certificate is not a document that proves citizenship.

I could move to Canada, relinquish my US citizenship and
become a citizen of Canada.

How would my birth certificate prove I'm a US citizen?

According to the Constitution you just need to be born here or naturalized to be a citizen. Just going off of experience of the minimum requirements to obtain a United States passport.

I am not an expert on immigration or Canadian law but it seems if you are going to relinquish your citizenship you probably have to meet some minimal requirements to prove that you were a citizen of somewhere else. The minimum standard is the birth certificate.

I can see this going circular so I'm going to leave it here.

My point is that if, for example, you are a Canadian citizen, but was
born in the U.S. and not a U.S. citizen, when BP comes asking for your
papers, you can probably get away with showing your U.S. birth certificate,
but it's not a document of citizenship, since you would be a Canadian citizen.

Basically, just because you have a U.S. birth certificate, doesn't mean you
are a U.S. Citizen. It just means you have the ability to be a U.S. Citizen if
you choose to.

....... Actually this is not really new. Back in the mid 80's I got on a Greyhound in Eagle Pass ,Texas. Border patrol/Customs , whoever I really don't remember the agency, got on after we loaded and checked everyone's papers. Except mine. I'm a white male. The uniformed agent got to me and said, "I guess you're American, huh?", turned around and left the bus. True story.

I remember seeing that in old movies about WWII...when the SS and other bad guys would stop people on the street w/o cause and ask to see their "papers." I remember thinking...wow, how awful. What an awful, tyrannical place. I'm so glad I live in a democracy, where copy can't stop you to see some sort of papers, which you have to show, or you'll be arrested.

I never show it to them unless I am actually driving. I tell them my name and answer other questions honestly if they are not intrusive. They always want to see some identifying papers and I always say no, not in America. I guess I should add, "Not yet."

When my husband was stationed in Europe. We crossed over to East Germany (after getting travel orders from the US) before the wall came down and this reminds me of what happened to us It also happened to us in slovakia, the only thing missing here seems
to be the very large mirror the border guards had mounted on wheels, this was used to roll under the bus to make sure no-one was
escaping by holding on to the bottom of the bus.

Nazi Arschlochs!

Nazi Amerikkka, I guess.

There. That's better.

This is truly frightening. Unfortunately, not surprising.

For every incident like this that we hear about, how many others are there? I cringe watching movies about Nazi Germany where they demand people's papers. Now it is happening here for real.

"Carrying papers" with you at all time sounds like Nazi Germany.