“In the US, the government now requires all citizens to have a passport in order to pass the border, even when driving into Mexico or Canada. Obtaining a passport, however, is neither free nor guaranteed. You must apply, pay an ever-increasing fee, and wait for weeks to be approved and receive it. “
You should not be required to provide a passport to leave. The only thing they should be doing for people leaving is making sure they are not wanted criminals.
A tip when you apply for a passport is to ask for the passport with lots of visa pages. I had to have pages added to my passport for $81. It doesn’t cost any more the passport with more pages.
Doubtless due to treaties. Otherwise one would expect Canadians to be manning the US side of checkpoints, and vice versa.
I have never been asked by a US government official for any type of ID when departing the country. The airlines want to see your passport and visa if necessary only because they don't want the expense of flying you back if your are denied entry.
US Border/Customes agents only ever asked me for ID when I returned to the US not when I departed.