[mywittyname]

The US Government only "asks" because it further benefits them.

Maybe falsifying the documents counts as another charge to pressure someone they are holding, or legal counsel suggested it to ensure that any information found could be readily used against the person in a legal preceding, or plausible deniability cover for FOIA requests. I can think of a lot of ways that asking someone for something you already know about can be beneficial and no ways that it is detrimental.

[toomanybeersies]

I was told (but don't quote me on this) that this is the reason why they require you to answer so many questions as part of the ESTA process. It more or less serves to cover the govt's ass and give cause for deportation if you lie on your application.

They used to ask if you had been involved in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. It still asks

> Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?

I don't think anybody would ever seriously answer "yes" to that question, but if the US government wants to deport an individual and it's discovered they lied on their ESTA application, it's more straightforward to deport them.

[unishark]

I think you overestimate them. Sometimes 100 percent of government paperwork consists of telling them stuff they should already know.