Border crossers to need birth certificates
Rush is on again
Border crossers to need birth certificates
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 01/11/2008 12:00:00 AM MST
Manuel Rodriguez applied for birth certificates for his 2-week-old daughter before the family takes a vacation to Cancun, Mexico, next week. Border crossers will soon need to show birth certificates if they don't have passports. (Adriane Jaeckle / El Paso Times)The same law that started a rush for passports this year is prompting an increase in demand for another document -- the birth certificate.
Officials at the El Paso County clerk's office reported that applications for copies of birth certificates increased significantly in the past year. The office issued 58,755 such documents in 2006, compared with 68,784 in 2007, a 17 percent increase, according to county records. In December alone, the office issued an average of 245 birth certificates a day, compared with 177 a day in December 2006.
"We have seen an increase throughout the whole year. Mostly, it's for passports," said County Clerk Delia Briones.
People get a birth certificate and go across the hall to the district clerk's office to apply for a U.S. passport.
U.S. citizens who just need to go to Juárez and back don't actually need a passport, but they will need to show a birth certificate and a picture ID to Customs and Border Protection officers starting Jan. 31.
Thursday morning, Manuel Rodriguez was applying for a birth certificate for his 2-week-old daughter in preparation for a trip to Cancun. Rodriguez will need a passport to take a plane, but because of her age, Rodriguez's daughter needs only a birth certificate, and that's fine by him.
"I don't have anything against passports, but it's a pain to carry it all over town. You can lose it, and there goes another $100," he said.
A passport costs $97 for an adult and $82 for a child.
The El Paso County clerk's office charges $23 to issue a copy of a birth certificate.
Elizabeth Frescas, vital statistics supervisor, said applicants need to show a photo ID, but because many of them need a birth certificate to get a driver's license in the first place, lesser forms of photo ID will do.
"We have taken Sam's (Club) cards," she said.
Birth certificates are usually ready in minutes.
As for passports, District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez said that his office is still busy but that the flow abated somewhat since mid-December. His clerks now handle 150 to 200 passport applications a day. Applicants now receive their passport in three or four weeks, he said.
Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_7938240
