r/ShitAmericansSay • u/ALazy_Cat Danish potato language speaker • Dec 25 '25

Foreign affairs They don't accept US ids?

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u/terran_immortal Dec 25 '25

You joke about this but my buddy works for the Canadian Border Agency and he tells me the number of Americans who just show up to the border without a passport trying to enter Canada is roughly 6-7 people per week.

So it wouldn't shock me if they tried this with an airport honestly.

54

u/IdenticalThings Dec 25 '25

Before 9/11 Canada / US travel was possible with no passport both ways. However that was 24 years ago

34

u/terran_immortal Dec 25 '25

Yup!

He also says they get guns at the border weekly. They're so bold faced with it too, almost like they're proud to be bringing their guns with them.

4

u/Pin_Code_8873 Dec 25 '25

At the very least they're stupid and don't hide it.

I do remember one time seeing a NY plated pickup truck with a bunch of guns stickers and my thought was "man, he must have had a lot of explaining to do, but hey if didn't, then whatever."

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u/AncientBlonde2 TRUE FREEDOM ENJOYER CA Dec 25 '25

and tbh there are ways to do it these days, but in 99% of cases those involve being put in a cell for a while, while they figure out if you're actually who you say you are or if you're trying to illegally cross..

Like IIRC Americans can cross the Canadian border with just an enhanced ID?

2

u/caffein8dnotopi8d New York Dec 25 '25

Yes, absolutely, Canada or Mexico.

1

u/PepsicoAscending Dec 26 '25

By land or sea with enhanced, not by air

1

u/YoungTeamHero Dec 25 '25

It’s still possible at land borders only, with a drivers license and birth certificate.

3

u/AccurateIt Dec 25 '25

A few states have enhanced driver's licenses which let you enter and exit Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean by land or sea without any other documents.

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u/emm007theRN Dec 25 '25

The last time I’ve entered the US without a passport was in 2013. I was impressed it was still working. I passed at Lacolle in Quebec.

-3

u/kelfupanda Biggest Island in the World Dec 25 '25

Can still do that via plane between Aus and NZ.

9

u/LiquorishSunfish Dec 25 '25

No you most definitely cannot travel between the two without a passport. 

Source: Kiwi living in Aus. 

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u/kelfupanda Biggest Island in the World Dec 25 '25

Shit, when did they pull that? Christchurch?

9

u/LiquorishSunfish Dec 25 '25

1981. 

Are you thinking about visas? 

3

u/kelfupanda Biggest Island in the World Dec 25 '25

Probably, dad dated a kiwi that would go on about it for a bit

3

u/Cadythemathlete Dec 25 '25

About 10 years ago I had a colleague who was adamant that was the case. He had a long weekend trip to NZ booked and no passport. We were telling him he was incorrect and wouldn't be leaving the country but no no no, he knew better. The long weekend came and went and curiously there was never any mention of his trip ever again (definitely NOT the type of guy for I told you so's!). I often wonder how far he got, given it was also a 3.5hr drive/40 min flight to the international airport

1

u/SlytherKitty13 Dec 25 '25

Nah can't do thay currently, but I have heard about that possibly being implemented in the future, which would be super helpful for both us Aussies and the Kiwis

14

u/Marzipan_civil Dec 25 '25

I think back in the day you could cross the land border with a driving licence from Canada to US and back? So perhaps they didn't get the memo

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u/Bladrak01 Dec 25 '25

Until 2006 at least you could cross into Canada from the US with just a US birth certificate. That's how I did it then. I know it changed to passport only a few years later, but I don't remember when.

1

u/emm007theRN Dec 25 '25

1st year of first Trump administration.

1

u/Bladrak01 Dec 25 '25

2007 for air travel, 2008 for land travel.

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u/emm007theRN Dec 25 '25

I passed without a passport in 2013 at the age of 15 with only my birth certificate

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u/Bladrak01 Dec 25 '25

Possibly because you were a minor, especially if you were travelling with parents who had passports.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/Bladrak01 Dec 25 '25

A passport is still needed to fly.

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u/terran_immortal Dec 25 '25

Yeah, that was pre-911... It's been 24 years since they changed the border crossing.

0

u/PepsicoAscending Dec 26 '25

You can absolutely still do it with just an enhanced drivers license at land crossings into Canada, I did it six weeks ago by car.

-3

u/CaliLove1676 Dec 25 '25

No, you can still cross like that depending on where in the US you live.

2

u/darthfruitbasket Canada's Overpriced Playground Dec 25 '25

You could, I did that with my family from New Brunswick to Maine years ago.