Originally Posted by
WHBM
Is this an official US requirement ? When I go swimming on the beach at Miami Beach I don't bring any documentation over from the hotel. How could I ?
Legally, you are probably required to. However, officer discretion would certainly apply if you were swimming in Miami!
I can't think of any officer who would harrass people who were swimming in order to check their documentation, but I suppose if they really, really wanted to press the issue, they could escort you back to your room to show them your paperwork. I don't carry my passport with me when I'm outside the US (it is locked in the room safe), although legally I probably should. I've never met an officer so wretched as to want to be such a stickler.
In any case, imprisonment (if ever invoked) would certainly only be possible if you could not produce any ID at all (and didn't have it in your hotel room.)