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A growing number of Hispanics along the Texas-Mexico border with birth records showing they were born in the United States are being denied American passports, held in immigration detention centers, and entered into deportation proceedings, immigration attorneys and individuals affected told the Washington Post.
According to the Post report, the issue stems from a government allegation that from the 1950s through the 1990s, midwives and physicians working along the border issued American birth certificates to babies born in Mexico, which some birth attendants have admitted to in court.
The State Department, the Post said, denies changing its "policy or practice regarding the adjudication of passport applications." The agency also said the border region "happens to be an area of the country where there has been a significant incidence of citizenship fraud." But immigration attorneys and cases identified by the Post suggest a "dramatic" change in passports issued and how immigration laws are enforced.