James Anatidae wrote:

I'm quite aware of that, as I have two of them (dual citizenship has its
perks). I just feel it's a better idea to have a passport, due to a birth
certificate's not being recognized everywhere, plus being able to use a
passport as a extra ID.


This is a family that was going to Jamaica. No need for passports.
No problem if they look like the standard (white) American family and
have id and certified birth certificates. Why get a passport if one is
not needed? Maybe they wanted to save money. After all, they had
traveled to Mexico before using the birth certs.