Note: The Government of Puerto Rico's voiding of birth certificates, scheduled for July 1st, has created a lot of confusion and misinformation about its immediate practical implications for those born in Puerto Rico. One result is the real possibility of a mad rush to order the new identity theft-proof certificates when, in fact, you only need them if you are using them for identification for a new service or program, driver's license or passport. This affects everyone, regardless of age, who was born in Puerto Rico which, by our analysis of the latest Census figures, totals 5.1 million people who are affected (3.6 million in Puerto Rico and 1.5 million Stateside). If most of these people apply for a new certificate around the same time in July, this could cause a bureaucratic nightmare for the Government of Puerto Rico. They ask that you only apply for the new certificate if you have immediate need for it. In the meantime, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has written to the Governor of Puerto Rico to ask for an extension of this date.
So, if you already have a driver's license, for example, you don't need the new certificate until you need to renew it and they ask for a birth certificate. You should also note that a number of states, like California, are not accepting Puerto Rico birth certificates because of the high fraudulent use. In terms of passports, the Government of Puerto Rico is still waiting for a decision on this from them, but the understanding is that this birth certificate change should not affect people currently holding US passports.
Through The NiLP Network we have provided analyses on the broader issues affecting this new birth certificate policy, but we thought it would be important to have the Government of Puerto Rico itself provide their analysis to our members on this issue. Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rico's Secretary of State, was kind enough to write the following Guest Commentary. We would also like to thank Luis Balzac, the New York Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), for his assistance in this matter.
If questions remain, let us know and we will try to get answers.
---Angelo Falcón | afalcon@latinopolicy.org
Puerto Rico's New Birth Certificate Law: Protecting Identities and Combating Fraud
By Kenneth McClintock
Secretary of State of Puerto Rico (March 18, 2010)
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Why Puerto Rico birth certificates? Two reasons. In the past, many common official and unofficial transactions in Puerto Rico unnecessarily required the submission, retention, and storage of birth certificates, whether it be registering for school, joining little leagues, or participating in Church activities. It was not unheard of for a typical resident in Puerto Rico to present approximately 15 certified copies of their birth certificate to different entities over the years. As a result, hundreds of thousands of original birth certificates were stored without adequate protection, making them easy targets for theft.
And the second reason: the common Hispanic names of most individuals born in Puerto Rico made these birth certificates highly desirable on the black market and left Puerto Rico-born U.S. citizens especially vulnerable to identity theft, ruined credit, stolen federal benefits, and increased security checks at airports.
But that cycle of fraud is changing, thanks to a new law enacted by the government of Puerto Rico to strengthen the issuance and usage of birth certificates to better protect the identity and credit of all people born in Puerto Rico. Under the law, new Puerto Rico birth certificates will be issued starting July 1, 2010. Until that date, all current birth certificates will remain valid.
The new law also establishes that no public or private entity within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico may retain an original copy of a Puerto Rico issued birth certificate. Local agencies in Puerto Rico, as well as private employers, may request to inspect birth certificates and even copy them, but cannot retain the original under any circumstance.
The new law (Law 191 of 2009) was based on collaborations with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to address fraud and national security concerns. In one example, approximately 40 percent of the passport fraud cases investigated by the U.S. DOS Diplomatic Security Services in recent years involved Puerto Rico birth certificates.
There is no need for those born in Puerto Rico to rush out and get a new birth certificate on July 1. Only people who have a specific need for their birth certificate for official purposes need to request a new one right away. Those who want to obtain a copy for their records are encouraged to do so at a later date to prevent an unnecessary rush of applications.
Those who are Puerto Rican-born living in the states can obtain the new certificate by mail starting July 1, 2010. The fee is $5, but will be waived for people over 60 and veterans. The new birth certificates will be issued through the Puerto Rico Health Department's Vital Statistics office.
For more information, go to www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates or www.prfaa.com/certificadosdenacimiento .
Kenneth D. McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is the current Secretary of State of Puerto Rico and is of Puerto Rican and Irish-American descent. As Secretary of State, he serves as the territory's Lieutenant Governor. He served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council in 2008, co-chaired her successful Puerto Rico primary campaign that year and served as the Thirteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico until his term ended on December 31, 2008.