Texas Officials Want Birth Certificate Immigration Lawsuit Dismissed

Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services have asked a federal judge to dismiss an immigration lawsuit regarding the agency’s refusal to issue birth certificates to children of undocumented immigrants. Attorneys representing 19 immigrant parents and 23 of their children filed the immigration lawsuit after state officials refused to grant birth certificates to the children, all of whom were born in Texas. State officials claim that the federal court does not have jurisdiction over the agency.

Details of the Immigration Lawsuit

The immigration lawsuit arose from a conflict between the state agency’s policies on issuing birth certificates and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically an American citizen. However, the DSHS has recently refused to issue birth certificates to the parents due to their illegal immigration status. The immigration lawsuit alleges that the DSHS policy violates both the U.S. Constitution and current federal immigration law.

Immigration Lawsuit and “Matricula Consular”

A point of dispute in the immigration lawsuit stems from an identity document previously used by illegal immigrants. The document, known as a “matricula consular”, is issued by the Mexican consulate to immigrants living and working in the U.S. According to the immigration lawsuit, DSHS and other state agencies had accepted the “matricula consular” as valid proof of identity. The suit claims that the agency tightened its policies and now considers the documents invalid, stating that the information submitted to obtain the identity card is “not verified by the issuing party.”

Immigration Lawsuit Cites Barriers for Children, Parents

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the immigration lawsuit claim that the state’s policy may hurt both the children and their parents. The policy change has affected thousands of children born in Texas since the agency changed its policies in 2013. Without a valid birth certificate, the immigration lawsuit claims, children may not be able to register for school or receive health care. If the child is injured, parents will not be able to verify that they are the child’s legal guardians without a valid birth certificate.

Immigration Lawsuit Claims “Thousands of Parents” Denied Birth Certificates

An attorney in the immigration lawsuit stated that numerous immigrants “were able to get birth certificates with no problem” in years past. The immigration lawsuit stated that “hundreds, and possibly thousands, of parents” have been denied birth certificates for their Texas-born children with the same documents. A DSHS spokesman released a statement saying that the agency has “never accepted the matricula consular as adequate identification.”

Source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times

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