Settlement agreement: State Department holds passport acceptance events
The U.S. Department of State will hold special passport processing services next month in Brownsville and McAllen for a number of South Texas residents whose passport applications were denied because midwives registered their births.
The events, which will take place May 17-23, 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 State Department will be allowed to attend.
U.S. citizens who qualify as class members will be allowed to reapply for passports free of fees and under a new application process at mobile units set up in McAllen at South Texas College and in Brownsville at the International, Technology, Education and Commerce Campus at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Southmost College.
According to the State Department, potential class members must meet all of the following three requirements: 1) Have a birth certificate registered by a midwife or birth attendant in Texas 2) Have a applied for a U.S. passport in the country between April 8, 2003 and Aug. 14, 2009 3) Have received a letter stating their passport application was "filed without further action, "abandoned" or "closed," or did not receive a response.
To become a verified as a class member, residents should register online through the Web site:
Requests for verification can also be made by mail, but with less than two weeks away until the events, the best way is to apply online. The verification process can take up to four weeks, according to the State Department.
But in previous conversations, U.S. Department of State officials have said the verification process is not taking as long and that class member letters are being sent out in one to two weeks, said Jose Borjon, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, the congressman who has long voiced opposition against arbitrary passport denials.
"We are hoping that people can take full advantage of these mobile units being set up throughout South Texas, he said.
But some immigration attorneys and advocates criticized the State Department’s late disclosure of information regarding the events, which were announced Friday. The department, some said, did not provide enough time to spread the word about the visiting mobile units and allow residents to register for the verification process.
Immigration attorney Elisabeth Lisa Brodyaga said she found that "a little bit frustrating," but not as frustrating as the "ridiculous" passport application denials some Texans delivered by midwives continue to receive, even after the department agreed to implement new acceptance procedures in response to the Castelano class action lawsuit.
The complications that have emerged since then have incited immigration attorneys to seek class-action status in another case against the U.S. Department of State.
"We have given the department a chance. It is not working," she said.
Passport acceptance events:
Brownsville
ITECC Campus
301 Mexico Boulevard
Brownsville, TX 78520
Tuesday-Saturday 9 a.m.-6p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
McAllen
South Texas College—Pecan Campus Library
3201 W. Pecan Blvd.
McAllen, TX
Tuesday-Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday 9-5 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
How to become a verified class member to attend acceptance passport events:
Log 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.
