Federal judge denies temporary relief to immigrant families regarding denial of birth certificates
A federal judge on Friday declined to temporarily end the Texas health department policy that nearly 30 immigrant parents say is denying their children birth certificates.
In a ruling filed in the Western District of Texas, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said he could not order such a drastic emergency remedy without allowing both sides to develop evidence and thoroughly explore “the facts and circumstances of the issues raised in this case.”
Pitman seemed sympathetic to the families’ plight in a hearing this month, telling lawyers for Texas that attempts to minimize the importance of the documents had left him “befuddled.” He said birth certificates are fundamental to establish proof of citizenship and shouldn’t be denied to children born in the United States.
But questioning whether a federal court could supervise a state system of regulations, the judge also expressed concerns about issuing the order banning certain forms of identification for people who are applying for a birth certificate.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/federal-judge-denies-temporary-relief-to-immigrant/nn4rt/
= new reply since forum marked as read
