Texas Denies Birth Certificates to Kids of Immigrants

Texas has refused to issue birth certificates to children born in America to undocumented immigrants over the last year, The Texas Observer reports, and several of parents have taken the state to court. “I’ve never seen such a large number of women with this problem,” said a Texas RioGrande Legal Aide lawyer. “They are locking out a huge chunk of the undocumented immigrant community.” Despite Texas law allowing parents to use foreign IDs for identification, hospitals run by the Texas Department of State Health Services have told parents that their foreign IDs—or passports without current U.S. visas—are no longer acceptable. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship.