Texas Border Business
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) released the following joint statement in response to a report by the Washington Post of a surge in passport denials and revocations for U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent who live along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas.
In a letter to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, Congressmen Gonzalez and Espaillat expressed their collective concerns regarding the Administration’s arbitrary enforcement of a policy used to detain and deport U.S. citizens, including individuals who previously held U.S. passports and individuals who have served in our nation’s Armed Forces.
“Recent assertions indicate that the current Administration and its immigration enforcement officials are requiring additional and sometimes difficult to obtain information to prove a person’s citizenship, including evidence of a mother’s prenatal care, baptismal certificates, and rental agreements, when applying or renewing a U.S. passport,” said the Members.
“We are deeply concerned about this report and ask that Sec. Pompeo and the U.S. Department of State provide further clarification and answers to explain the following:
- How many passport renewal applications have been submitted and subsequently denied to U.S. citizens along the U.S.-Mexico border, specifically in Texas, since 2015? How do these application and denial rates compare to others of non-Hispanic descent, particularly those who reside in other parts of the country?
- Is the State Department flagging passport denials and passport revocations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and/or Customs and Border Protection? How many applicants, whose passports were denied or revoked, have subsequently been taken to detention facilities, and how many have been deported?
- What kind of secondary documents are being required if an applicant’s birth certificate is flagged as fraudulent?
- Beyond the midwives who have been placed on a list for past fraudulent actions, what are the other major reasons for denying an applicant?
- If an applicant is denied a passport renewal, what is the appeals process? What steps does the State Department take to help inform applicants of their right to appeal?
- When an applicant is denied a passport renewal while abroad, what is the process to appeal this decision? What is the average wait time for an appeal? What are the options for this individual to return to the United States, or while they wait for their appeal while abroad?
“We want to ensure that the Administration takes these reports seriously and works with us to address them immediately so that our nation remains the land of freedom and opportunity for all,” the Members concluded.
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