But a random, unofficial survey of Houston residents who have recently renewed their licenses produced zero people who remember ever having to produce a birth certificate or passport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a brand new law, but stricter enforcement of existing REAL ID Act requirements means Texans born at home without records, like some older residents, are now finding they need official documentation to prove identity and lawful presence for renewal,\u201d according to the Texas DPS website.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Texas Department of Public Safety\u2019s Media and Communications Office did not respond to repeated voice mails and emails requesting comment for this story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the immigrant-led civil rights organization FIEL Houston<\/a>, moved to Texas from Mexico in 1991 when he was 5 years old. The process for getting identification as an immigrant has always been challenging, he said, but barriers have increased under President Donald Trump\u2019s administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSome of these things were already happening, but the administration is putting things out on paper that are mandating these things happen more broadly and it\u2019s emboldening people who are in positions of power to have less discretion when it comes to issuing driver\u2019s licenses and things like that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Espinosa, 40, recalled being in high school and picking up an ID card at the Social Security office. He became a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient in 2012 and got a limited-term driver\u2019s license.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou had to prove that you had some sort of status or pseudo-status and you had to present a physical work permit and your acceptance letter to DACA,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He got his permanent U.S. citizenship when he married his wife Karynna, a Houston native. But his status wasn\u2019t immediately updated in the federal registry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I had a really hard time,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a harder time renewing my driver\u2019s license as a legal permanent resident with a green card than I did when I had a work permit. Even though I had my green card physically in hand, and all my paperwork, I didn\u2019t appear in the federal registry at the Social Security office or the DPS office.\u201d<\/p>\n He drove without a valid license for about six months before the records updated, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the dilemma facing many Houstonians today. Those who are documented still have trouble getting the ID to prove it; many who are undocumented are avoiding government offices altogether for fear of being detained, Espinosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t get driver\u2019s licenses,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have to get consular IDs or other forms of IDs, like an enhanced library card at Houston Public Library that has their name and picture on it. In theory, that\u2019s the only thing you need to prove identity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When attempting to speak during public comments at City Hall, FIEL members get turned away \u201cabout 50 or 60 percent of the time\u201d because they can\u2019t produce a Texas driver\u2019s license, Espinosa added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very, very frustrating because they\u2019re supposed to let anybody speak,\u201d he said, clarifying that this has gone on for years under administrations prior to that of current Mayor John Whitmire. \u201cSometimes the security [officer] doesn\u2019t know. We have to educate them, and oftentimes there\u2019s tension because they\u2019re the authority figure and we\u2019re challenging them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Recent policies and increased enforcement intended to target undocumented people are also harmful to lifelong U.S. citizens, Espinosa said. It appears that the timing is suspect, as Trump has taken an aggressive approach to deporting college students<\/a> and people who have had a minor run-in with the law, such as a traffic violation.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Texas birth certificate can usually be obtained from the county courthouse where one was born or via an online form<\/a>, but other documentation has to be produced to prove identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested undocumented residents at immigration court and at their job sites in Houston, and city officials say they are required by law to report to the federal agency when they encounter someone who has an outstanding warrant. That has prompted some undocumented individuals to refuse to report domestic violence situations or car accidents because they don\u2019t want to get on the radar of local police.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSince we heard about them becoming more stringent on ID cards, one of the things we\u2019ve been telling people is that this has consequences, even as citizens,\u201d Espinosa said, adding that many legal residents were delivered by midwives and don\u2019t have a birth certificate, or they\u2019ve lost it.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cesar-Espinosa-1024x768.png\")
FIEL Houston executive director Cesar Espinosa, pictured at a protest earlier this year, says the birth certificate requirement is just one more way immigrants are being targeted. Credit: Screenshot<\/p>\n