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Comment by patcheudor | Hacker News Reader

Nothing. I walk up, identify myself, explain I've misplaced my wallet and have no ID, credit-cards, etc. They then call for an enhanced screening and a nice TSA agent walks with me through the line to place my stuff on the conveyer. We then go past the scanner and I get a pat down and rubbed with their little white paper which goes into a device to sniff for explosives. Sometimes I'm asked questions about my travel, SSN, that sort of thing. Honestly, I've never had a problem.

EDIT: Oh, I never have checked bags. I think that helps make it smoother.

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+1. I once lost my ID and showed up at the airport with a photocopy of my passport; they just asked for whatever else I had on hand (credit card, company badge) and patted me down.

"explain I've misplaced my wallet"

So you commit perjury, correct?

That is not perjury.

Nope. If you don't have your wallet, you don't have your wallet. Further, you only commit perjury (in the US) if you are under oath. Also, no law has been broken which is being investigated. Not having ID is not a crime. Being vague about why you don't have ID is not a crime.

you only commit perjury (in the US) if you are under oath

Quite true. But did you know it is a felony to make false statements? Martha Stewart probably didn't know that before, but she does now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_false_statements

in the commission of a crime or to mislead the investigation of a crime.

s/he's not under oath when s/he says it, so it's not perjury.

Lying to a federal official is some other criminal offence and is a pretty bad idea.

Not a lawyer, but I believe lying to a federal official is only a criminal offense when it is done to cover up a crime. I still don't advise lying to a TSA agent and would suggest that anyone traveling without an ID actually be traveling without an ID. Obviously there are some risks of delay in doing this so I'm sure it's something which will never be common.

As I understand it the law makes it a crime to utter any false statement to a federal agent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_false_statements

So if I said "The sky is not blue and the sun is not yellow" they could arrest me for something ?

Is a TSA employee actually a federal officer?

The security screeners are not officers. Abso-fucking-lutely not. Their powers of detention and search are strictly limited to only those actions required to ensure the safety of aircraft from the things that would be loaded onto said aircraft. [0]

If a TSA agent needs to do anything beyond their remit, they must get a law enforcement officer to do it.

[0] The TSA's kangaroo court has been gradually expanding what the TSA feels it is legally permitted to do as time goes on, but -happily- Federal judges have started to take a really dim view on the TSA's (incredibly long-standing) procedural end run around judicial review.

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