Area residents born with the assistance of midwives can apply again for passports
The U.S. Department of State will have special passport processing services next month in Brownsville and Harlingen for a number of South Texas residents whose passport applications were denied because midwives attended their births. At the "acceptance events" to be held Dec. 1, U.S. citizens will be allowed to reapply for passports free of fees and under a new application process. But not all of those who were denied passports will be allowed to attend. The events, which already have been held in El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo, come as a result of a settlement agreement in a year-long class action lawsuit filed against the Department of State by the American Civil Liberties Union and immigration attorneys representing citizens denied passports. Only those who qualify as a class member in the case (Castelano, et al. v. Clinton, et al.) and receive a verification letter from the Department of State will be allowed to reapply at the events. Potential class members — people whose births were registered by a midwife or birth attendant and who applied for a U.S. passport in the country between April 8, 2003 and Aug. 14, 2009 but did not receive it — need to register online through the Web site:
www.travel.state.gov/passport.
Requests for verification can also be made by mail, but with only two weeks away until the event, the best way is to go online. The verification process can take up to four weeks and only those verified as class members will receive the exact times and locations of the events through the Web site. Department of State
officials are working to expedite the verification process, said Jose Borjon, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, the congressman who has voiced opposition against arbitrary passport denials.
"Right now, they are turning (the requests) around in one to two weeks," Borjon said. "The Department of State is working vigorously to get these letters out to potential class members before the Dec. 1 deadline." The Department of State began calling passport applicants’ citizenship into question when it suspected that as many as 15,000 midwife-granted birth certificates were issued fraudulently in South Texas. From 1960 to 2008, more than 75 South Texas midwives were convicted of signing birth certificates for children they did not deliver. Immigration attorneys, particularly in South Texas, began seeing a steady stream of cases in which residents were asked to dig up all sorts of necessary and obscure documentation as additional proof of citizenship. The applicants ranged from senior citizens to children and even included veterans and employees of federal agencies. For at least some of the estimated thousands of Valley residents whose passport applications were denied, the events should come as long-awaited relief and there may be more events — not limited to Castelano class members — early in 2010. But some immigration attorneys and community leaders expressed concerns that the Department of State had not disseminated enough information about the December events to those affected. Centro Cultural Educacion Y Asistencia de Cameron Park and Proyecto Juan Diego, also in Cameron Park, have become bases for dozens of people sent in bureaucratic circles. Yet, community workers at both nonprofits have not seen nearly as many people come in to ask about the December passport acceptance events or the verification letters. "I do not think people here in Cameron Park know about (the events) or else we would have had throngs of people coming in to ask," said Lupita Sanchez, a community health worker for Proyecto Juan Diego. Immigration attorney Elisabeth Brodyaga, who originally led the lawsuit against the Department of State, said most verified class members should have already received their letters but doubted many knew the exact times and locations of the events. "I don’t think that this fulfills the spirit of the agreement," said Brodyaga referring to what she believes is the Department of State’s lack of information disclosure to the public. Meanwhile, immigration attorney Jaime Diez said those who are not verified class members should still reapply for a passport. The lawsuit agreement has instated new procedures to approve passport applications that should benefit everyone. "Don’t be afraid," he said. "If you are a citizen, you need to get your passport."
How to become a verified class member to attend acceptance passport event: Verification requests can take up to four weeks to process. With two weeks until the Dec. 1 event the best way to become verified class member is by logging on to: www.travel.state.gov/passport. Potential class members must provide: full name, birth date, birthplace, current address, last four numbers of their social security number, approximate date of application, and mother’s full name to the U.S. Department of State. Information can also be sent by mail to: U.S. Department of State/Charleston Passport Center, 1269 Holland Street, Building 643, Charleston, South Carolina 29405-2604.
