Passports and Midwives

David Hernandez is a tough guy. He has done his time in the army and has stood by his family over the years. He grew up in San Benito, Texas, a small town just up the road from Brownsville. His mother is a sweet woman who is obviously proud of her son.

When Mrs. Hernandez was ready to deliver David, she did what so many working-class families down here do--she sought out a midwife. The "parteras" as midwives are called were much less expensive than doctors, and the experience a much more human one than that of a hospital.

Next year, in order for David to visit his extended family that lives in Mexico, he will need a US passport to be able to come back into the country. Some months ago, David filled out an application, paid his $112—and then got a letter from the State Department telling him that he needed to produce a bundle of secondary proof establishing that he was in fact a US citizen.

David did the paperwork. He got a second letter: the State Department had denied the application, but encouraged him to reapply, "once you establish your citizenship.”

David then went to the local immigration office and told them that he wanted to become a US citizen. They responded, “But you already are a US citizen. You were born here, and you have a valid birth certificate.”

But they couldn’t help him get a passport. That was another branch of the government. Moreover, David had committed the sin of being of Mexican descent, of living on the border, and of having been born with the help of a midwife.

In post 9/11 USA, David was now a suspicious person.

And he was being punished for it. House arrest. No Cancun for him, no visits to his cousins, no leaving the USA.

David said, “I have pledged allegiance to the flag every single day from kindergarten to high school. I traveled all over Europe on the basis of my Army identification card. And now this.”

Although women along the border have been using midwives for decades (one woman noted that she delivered more babies in a year than the local hospital), someone in Washington DC, apparently with too much time on his hands, decided that the para-professionals were untrustworthy, despite the fact that the State of Texas (the tightest state in the union) had long decided otherwise.

On behalf of David and thousands of others from our community, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the State Department. When the whole mess finishes, I hope that we can all have a nice meal on the other side of the border.

We will, of course, have our passports with us.

For more information, you can see this website: http://www.aclu.org/racialjustice/gen/passports.html

Another interview is here:

http://www.aclu.org/multimedia/passport_seifert.mp3