Out of fear and exhaustion, she says, Trinidad signed a confession saying she had falsely registered her daughters as born in the United States. On the U.S. side, if the child was first registered in the United States, the childs U.S. citizenship was rarely questioned. Report: Houston is the No. That weekend, like so many before, they had visited family on the southern side of the border. I was born in the United States of America and that makes me a United States citizen and under the constitution have the right to have a passport. At one point, the government assembled a list of nearly 250 "suspicious" midwives but never explained what made them suspicious. Midwife-attended delivery was the custom among most indigenous Indian and Mexican populations. I firmly believe that NOW all US-Citizens deserve a passport and there is no justification or enough reason to deny it, because A PERSON REMAINS INNOCENT, UNTIL THE AUTHORITIES PROVE HE/SHE IS NOT She cannot get a passport to travel, because the State Department does not believe she is an American citizen. I was so scared, says Laura Nancy. On the one hand, pro-immigrant advocates turn a callous cheek away from Rodriguez. To all of you wishing to join the lawsuit against the Department of State initiated by the ACLU, send your contact information and date you submitted your application for your passport, they will ask you for additional information if neccesary. The denials trouble Houston attorney Eric Reed, a former federal prosecutor who in 1996 convicted a Brownsville woman investigators dubbed The Mother of all Midwives because of 3,400 birth records she filed between 1985 and 1996. Without a birth certificate, she is seeking to prove her son is a U.S. citizen with church baptismal records and a sworn statement from a witness to his birth. Tel: (909) 467-6736 Similar to Ms. Yruegas, the two brothers who visited me were asked for objective proof beyond a mere birth certificate. Brenda Vazquez is a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Matamoros, Mexico. A push to close the U.S. Mexican border followed in the wake of the legalization program enacted under President Reagan. . The two moved back to the U.S. a few years later. view on the Fence after visiting South Texas during the Texas Primary. http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/index.html Their parents or older relatives who took care of them are no longer alive. I applied for a Passport and was granted one nearly 10 years ago, it is up for renewal, I hope that they don;t decide to reject it based on the fect that I was born in a residence. Charges against the other 175 were dropped. Lets get started with a personalized strategy and planning session . Contact your State representative and fillout a request for them to contact the state on your behalf to have them apply pressure and have the passport issued. In April 2008, the government refused his passport application. But the settlement said the department denied the ACLUs accusations, and noted that there has been significant fraud by midwives and other birth attendants certifying births as occurring in the United States when they have not occurred in the United States.. The new mandate requires U.S. citizens to present passports, passport cards, or other initiative-compliant documents when crossing from Mexico by land. If you were born in the United States along the border with Mexico, and a lay midwife assisted in your birth, you may have a hard time getting a U.S. passport. I believe you people have forgotten the principles of the United States Constitution. 4. James Pinkerton is a Houston Chronicle reporter assigned to cover police administration and criminal justice issues. Yet, the government alleges he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. In most cases, the midwives ended up just guessing, which led to overly-inclusive lists of names. Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. In essence, Yruegas was reduced to second-class status. 12 pick, Tips for bringing your dog or cat on a flight, West Texans share apocalyptic photos of after massive dust storm, This Houston rodeo food vendor wants you to eat his rattlesnake. Or better yet, what does John McCain have to say about it? Her citizenship had never before been questioned, she told the officer, and if permitted, she could retrieve more documentation, including her mothers blood work from a Brownsville hospital after Yulianas birth. Between 1960 and 2008, at least 75 midwives practicing in South Texas were convicted of fraudulent activities. Even though the U.S. permanent residence process for Javiers mother was never completed, his father maintained an apartment in Texas, where they lived about three days of every week. Wary of fraudulent birth documents provided by some lay midwives, the U.S. State Department is challenging the passport applications of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of border residents and requiring additional proof that the applicants were born in the U.S. How were they to obtain the testimony and affidavits of individuals who actually witnessed their birth over 60 years ago? In response to government requests, he collected mounds of documentation including papers from his military service, immunization and baptismal records, and witness affidavits. In 2008, the ACLU sued the federal government on behalf of nine people, arguing that authorities were unfairly discriminating against passport applicants. 5. Citizenship and Immigration Services office to provide proof that they were really born on American soil. 2. The report said the case would not be prosecuted because it was beyond the statute of limitations. 75 midwives convicted. He returned to Texas after graduation and gained employment with a company with offices on both sides of the border. The government has convicted 75 Texas midwives for fraudulent birth records since 1960, according to published reports. Write a letter stating your situation and why you are requesting your passport to be approved. This is an issue that these men could take decisive leadership on. The Brownsville Herald has reported that "the new policy assumes that midwives provided 15,000 South Texans with fraudulent birth certificates between 1960 and the early 1990s.". When he requested his school records, he was told that his elementary school papers no longer existed. Help, I did apply for my passport in early March and I still havent received it By February 23, 2023 mitchell moses family February 23, 2023 mitchell moses family 123 A comprehensive 30-minute Strategy And Planning Session will take the stress out of not knowing your options first-hand. Laura Castro lives across the border in Brownsville, Texas. The reason: Yruegas was born by midwife in an El Paso clinic in 1985.. Border patrol agents are obligated to ensure that documentation presented to establish citizenship is proper and correct and was issued to the person presenting the documents, spokesman Bill Brooks said in a statement. We refuse to take cookie-cutter approaches to your case. If you have submitted the passport application recently provide the file number to your local Senator or Sen. Ortiz he will act on your behalf and begin direct communication with the Department of State to expedite your passport application, there has been great end results. Although the saying goes that its nearly impossible to prove a negative, it seems, in fact, that its becoming impossible to DISprove a negative these days. He was born in 1966 at the McAllen home where she worked as a housekeeper, but a birth certificate was never filed because his birth was assisted not by a midwife, but by another maid. The Texas-Mexico border region has always been known for its poverty and so its not hard to believe that the practice was used heavily in the 1940s, 50, 60s and even early 70s. Despite providing no basis for their estimate, officials contend there exist 15,000 midwife forgeries stemming from South Texas. more than 60 years after their births? If I had paid for a false document for Jessica, she says, I would have bought one for her older brother as well. He said, Youd better cooperate with me, because if you dont, youre going to jail. 1 most stressful city for U.S. workers, Houston leaders delay vote on Hobby Airport concesssions contract, Houston facing severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes Thursday, Bun B on bringing Southern rap stars to Houston's Rodeo, Astros GM provides update on Yordan Alvarez's hand injury, KPRC 2 anchor Brandon Walker announces he is leaving network, Watch: Houston Astros' Luis Garcia debuts new windup, Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious on-air interview with reporter, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban, Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob hits city, Former KHOU 11 anchor Lily Jang turns layoff into lucrative real estate career, Your essential and exhaustive guide to 2023 Houston rodeo food. At one point, the government assembled a list of nearly 250 "suspicious" midwives but . I do not believe Rodriguez, and others like him, guilty of immigration fraud. Citing ongoing legal proceedings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials declined to comment about their procedures. For past employers on your parents and you, you can submit copies of W2 forms, you could ask the IRS for official copies and they will provided, it will take a while just reflect on your letter to the State dept that these items have been requested and will be later submitted. Factors like family ties, work history, education, community contributions, and military service should be evaluated to determine whether a grant of forgiveness, a waiver, is warranted. Tel: (951) 234-7354, 211 N. State Street, Ste. From 1960 to 2008, more than 75 South Texas midwives were convicted of signing birth certificates for children they did not deliver. My wife was born in Eagle Pass, Tx with a mid-wife in 1954 and she is being denied a U S Passport, the Sate Dept. So after 40-some odd years, the government is telling these people that until proven otherwise, theyre not citizens? She is unable to legally leave the country but she is not considered a U.S. citizen. They told him to turn in his badge. Over 75 mid-wife convictions followed. The 75 convicted individuals were part of a list of 250 suspicious midwives. They reduce complex human realities to simplistic narratives which amplify their world views. Most people are totally unaware of this risk, which is why they fall into this trap, says Lisa Brodyaga, who is working with Dez as a lead attorney on the Castro case. Neither cold-hearted perceptions of karma nor inflexible policy protocols can meet the needs of living situations stranger than fiction. Most did not keep records of their deliveries. During decades of daily newspaper experience, he has worked for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the Austin American Statesman and the Brownsville Herald. Two years earlier, Garcias husband had lost his U.S. work visa, and the family had moved back to Matamoros. Midwives may apply or renew online and change contact information online. In the view of immigration officials, false claims of U.S. citizenship are among the worst sins an immigrant can commit. Ms. Hernandez, The ACLU suit contends that the government has effectively reduced to second-class citizenship status an entire swath of passport applicants based solely on their being of Mexican or Latino descent and having been delivered by midwives in non-hospital settings in Southwestern border states., State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler declined to comment citing pending litigation on this issue.. Imagine serving in the U.S. Navy for seven years believing youre a U.S. citizen . It was all too much for her mother. Ricardo M Galvan Texas has 195 licensed midwives, and while not as active as in past years, they deliver more than 1,300 children each year. We will not take your case, unless we believe we can make a difference for you and your family. I dont doubt there were cases of fraud, but they are punishing the whole for the faults of the few, said Cynthia Renteria, an attorney with the Rio Grande Valley office of Houstons FosterQuan immigration law firm. Throughout the early 20th century, before subsidized public health care centers sprouted, it was not unusual for children to be born at home with the help of a family member of midwife. San Bernardino, CA 92408 What happened then, Yulianas mother says, I would not wish on anyone.. Since a heightened security measure called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative went into effect last June, most of those targeted for interrogation at ports of entry, immigration attorneys like Dez say, have been U.S. citizens who present birth documents registered by midwivespeople like Garcia and the Castro sisters, born in U.S. homes, not hospitals. Perez said the issues can be difficult for customs officers to deal with. . The agency also declined to release statistics on passport application refusals. 2. Margarita Lopez-Perez has hired FosterQuan attorney Bang to file a suit in federal court to have her son, Jorge Morales-Lopez, 42, declared a U.S. citizen. As a citizenship attorney trained to protect the due process rights of my clients, the governments actions reflect a witch hunt a witch hunt premised on an irrational response to ambiguous statements of some midwives that they had falsely verified certain children of Mexican parents were born in the United States between the 1960s and 2009. He returned to Mexico with his mother. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. There are probably thousands.. Her conviction was the latest result of a four-year investigation that has uncovered hundreds of fake documents filed by midwives. . 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