Originally Posted by dsauch

you still havent commented on yours and your husband's citizenship - what an irony :-)
If you are not US citizen - you have to "by law" carry green card with you, or if you are on tourist/other visa - passport with such visa.
In all youtube'd run-ins they have been satisfied with yes without asking for further proof. So no point in speculating in "what if you say you are citizen and they ask for passport" - I dont see that happening.

Originally Posted by chollie

Your question has already been answered.

If your husband is not a citizen, they can demand a passport. I wouldn't want to contemplate where that could lead if he doesn't produce one - at the very least, I think it's unlikely it will be a quick question-and-answer, "OK, you're free to go now". Perhaps if he has some kind of picture ID (foreign driver's license), things might go easier (ie, if he's Canadian, not sure if he's required to produce a passport on demand).

If he's a citizen, I'm not sure just saying so is enough. I think he can still be asked to provide proof (if, for instance, he has an accent/looks 'foreign').

It's definitely a situation that, IMHO, is best approached with even more humility, obsequiousness, shameless butt-kissing than a TSA checkpoint. If you start asserting rights or challenging CBP, you risk a lot more unpleasantness than a missed flight, and yes, I do believe you could jeopardize your GE.

There are stories of people who have told CBP agents at these roadblocks to stuff it and who have (allegedly) gotten away with it. There are better documented instances when things have gotten ugly.