Prove You Were Born Here Mexican-Americans!

The Wall Street Journal reports on an interesting story from South Texas that is having a significant impacty on the Mexican-American community.  Parteras, Spanish for midwives, have been part of life in parts of Texas along the border with Mexico from before the time of the Texas Republic. In the early 1990s, dozens of midwives were convicted of forging U.S. birth certificates for about 15,000 children born in Mexico as far back as the 1960s. As a result, the U.S. government is now demanding additional proof of birth in the United States for persons whose birth was assisted by midwives — a demand that has applicants scouring school warehouses and church offices to document their pasts.

KJ