Gail, I do know the difference between ID and proof of citizenship.

I am absolutely sure that very few, if any, of the thousands of people who will cross the border this weekend from California to Mexico will be taking birth certificates with them. Many will take passports, which I would do these days, but most will not. Quite a lot of these visitors may not have been born in the US. You don't have to be a citizen to live here legally, and driver's licenses are still what is commonly used. Of course, in California you have to have a social security number to get a driver's license and we haven't-yet-given them to illegal aliens.It may not be the absolutely correct by-the letter thing to do, but it is what happens every minute of the day at the busiest border crossing in the US. If the border patrol or customs are asking you for more, then they already suspect you of doing something you shouldn't be doing. And they know, they're very good at what they do.

TxTravelPro, I agree that everyone who is even thinking of traveling outside the US should get a passport, but they're getting more expensive and most people won't bother until they have to.

Misty, I'm very glad to hear that you are going somewhere which has good reviews from people you know. I can definitely see your point about cost! How many trips will you have to make to get it all done? Good luck.

On a day trip from San Diego to Tijuana 2 years ago, we were asked for birth certificates or passports. Immigration bearly glanced at those of my husband, 17 year old son or mine, but for some reason much more closely examined that of our 12 year old daughter and made her unpack her small backpack.

We are all born in US - and in case anyone is interested - adults are middle aged, white, of northern European descent. Only parcels we were carrying was a t-shirt in a plastic bag and some water bottles.

Hello.

I have read the various responses to this posting and for the life of me can not figure out one VERY important thing. It was mentioned that travellers from the US do not need the same types of travel documents to walk across the border in Juarez, Mexico as they would to travel 20 miles beyond the border. One step over the border or one thousand kilometers into Mexico should be considered and treated as the same thing. It is Mexican territory.

Ross

Ross, it's not treated as the same thing. The reason is that neither country wants to discourage people who live in the border region from crossing the border to shop, do business, visit a restaurant or whatever. A huge amount of money is involved,on both sides, not to mention that many Americans live in Mexico and cross the border to work every day. So, the whole border region is different.