I am one of them.
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| Documents submitted to obtain a passport were deemed "not acceptable." |
For the record, I was born in San Antonio, Texas. An original birth certificate was issued containing the exact place, date and time of my birth. It was signed by an attending physician and certified by the health director of Bexar County, Texas. Both of my parents were born in the U.S. My father served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later served for nearly 20-years in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. My maternal and paternal grandparents were all American citizens. My ancestry in Texas goes back at least 11 or 12 generations. All of these facts are provable and amply documented.
Passport Application Denied
My tenuous situation came to light in the summer of 2017 when at the age of 64, I applied for a passport for my impending retirement cruise to the Caribbean with my family. Weeks after submitting a routine application with all of the required documentation, I received a letter from the government informing me my passport had been denied. Needless to say, I was stunned.
The letter stated that the evidence of U.S. citizenship or nationality I submitted was "not acceptable." The notice went on to explain that "...the document you submitted does not sufficiently support your date and place of birth in the United States since your birth was in a non-institutional setting."
I was incredulous. How can that be? What does "non-institutional setting" mean? I spent the next few
minutes trying to make sense of this ridiculous claim. After carefully analyzing all of my supporting documents, one thing became clear. A subtle and barely noticeable detail of my birth apparently raised a red flag with the government: I was not born in a hospital. I was born at home.
In the 1950s, home births among many Hispanic families in South Texas were quite normal. Doctors routinely made home visits to deliver babies especially in rural or suburban areas where the nearest hospitals were often miles away. Among many Mexican-American families, babies were sometimes delivered at home by Mexican-American midwives known as "parteras".
Harsh Immigration Policies
Shortly after Trump took office in 2017, his administration began questioning the validity of birth certificates of Mexican-American babies born in the 1940s and 1950s. The administration cited suspicions of undocumented immigrants falsifying the birth certificates of children who were actually born in Mexico. The government's suspicions were largely unsubstantiated, but were nonetheless used by the administration to support its harsh immigration policies.
Thousands of American citizens of Mexican descent who were born in border states in the1940s and 1950s suddenly found themselves faced with the difficult task of gathering decades-old and nearly impossible to-obtain documentation to prove their American citizenship. Among the documentation requested of me were my parent's original and certified employment records, tax filings, rent or mortgage payment receipts, utility bills, school records, birth certificates of my siblings and written affidavits from persons who witnessed my birth in 1953.
My tenuous situation came to light in the summer of 2017 when at the age of 64, I applied for a passport for my impending retirement cruise to the Caribbean with my family. Weeks after submitting a routine application with all of the required documentation, I received a letter from the government informing me my passport had been denied. Needless to say, I was stunned.
The letter stated that the evidence of U.S. citizenship or nationality I submitted was "not acceptable." The notice went on to explain that "...the document you submitted does not sufficiently support your date and place of birth in the United States since your birth was in a non-institutional setting."
I was incredulous. How can that be? What does "non-institutional setting" mean? I spent the next few
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The house were I was born in South |
In the 1950s, home births among many Hispanic families in South Texas were quite normal. Doctors routinely made home visits to deliver babies especially in rural or suburban areas where the nearest hospitals were often miles away. Among many Mexican-American families, babies were sometimes delivered at home by Mexican-American midwives known as "parteras".
Harsh Immigration Policies
Shortly after Trump took office in 2017, his administration began questioning the validity of birth certificates of Mexican-American babies born in the 1940s and 1950s. The administration cited suspicions of undocumented immigrants falsifying the birth certificates of children who were actually born in Mexico. The government's suspicions were largely unsubstantiated, but were nonetheless used by the administration to support its harsh immigration policies.
Thousands of American citizens of Mexican descent who were born in border states in the1940s and 1950s suddenly found themselves faced with the difficult task of gathering decades-old and nearly impossible to-obtain documentation to prove their American citizenship. Among the documentation requested of me were my parent's original and certified employment records, tax filings, rent or mortgage payment receipts, utility bills, school records, birth certificates of my siblings and written affidavits from persons who witnessed my birth in 1953.
Anger and Frustration
After reviewing these requirements, I threw my hands in the air in total frustration. I chose not to pursue obtaining my passport after all. I chose to make no further efforts to obtain my passport.
Inexplicably, however, my passport was later approved and arrived six months later. I'm not sure if the government conducted another review of my application and concluded I was indeed an American citizen - or perhaps my passport was issued by mistake. Nonetheless, I was dubious.
I later learned through media reports and government documents that many people who received their passports under this situation were later denied re-entry into the U.S. after travelling abroad. I have not used my passport once since I received it out of fear of being denied re-entry into my own country.
After reviewing these requirements, I threw my hands in the air in total frustration. I chose not to pursue obtaining my passport after all. I chose to make no further efforts to obtain my passport.
Inexplicably, however, my passport was later approved and arrived six months later. I'm not sure if the government conducted another review of my application and concluded I was indeed an American citizen - or perhaps my passport was issued by mistake. Nonetheless, I was dubious.
I later learned through media reports and government documents that many people who received their passports under this situation were later denied re-entry into the U.S. after travelling abroad. I have not used my passport once since I received it out of fear of being denied re-entry into my own country.
Deportation Fears
The issue related to my citizenship has become an all-consuming concern. The fact is, the Trump administration is ruthlessly imposing its zero-tolerance immigration policies on thousands of Americans who were born in Texas. In the process, the lives of U.S. citizens like me are being tragically and unjustly upended. Many Hispanics who are true American citizens have been swept up in raids and summarily sent packing to Mexico. Truth is, I could suddenly and without notice be deported - ostensibly to Mexico - a country I have never lived-in and have no connection to, other than a small handful of rarely-seen distant relatives.
Frankly, this is an abomination. I'm angry and ashamed of my own government. More to the point, I am angry at the president of this country whose bigotry and hatred of non-white citizens is abhorrent and the source of horrible injustices committed against our citizens.
The issue related to my citizenship has become an all-consuming concern. The fact is, the Trump administration is ruthlessly imposing its zero-tolerance immigration policies on thousands of Americans who were born in Texas. In the process, the lives of U.S. citizens like me are being tragically and unjustly upended. Many Hispanics who are true American citizens have been swept up in raids and summarily sent packing to Mexico. Truth is, I could suddenly and without notice be deported - ostensibly to Mexico - a country I have never lived-in and have no connection to, other than a small handful of rarely-seen distant relatives.
Frankly, this is an abomination. I'm angry and ashamed of my own government. More to the point, I am angry at the president of this country whose bigotry and hatred of non-white citizens is abhorrent and the source of horrible injustices committed against our citizens.
Roy Ortega may be reached at rortega54@elp.rr.com. Your comments are welcome.
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