The Lion's Pride Volume 9 (January 2018) | Page 34

unable to obtain certificates for children born in Texas” (Capps, Fix, & Zong). However hard the state tried to uphold this policy, they could not continue to deny birth certificates to children born on U.S. soil, as the Constitution deems them citizens. The state settled the lawsuit with the agreement that Mexican nationals would be allowed to provide voter registration cards as a valid form of identification, while immigrants from other countries could continue to use consular documents. “Some states and localities continue to push laws and policies intended to make life difficult for unauthorized immigrants, hoping it will encourage them to leave. Time and time again, these policies have proven expensive, harmful, and unsuccessful” (Waslin). As attempted harmful policies are continuing to be written, what other options do immigrants have to ensure their children do not grow up in fear of losing a parent to deportation? In 2013, a group of bipartisan senators came together in attempt to answer this question, however their proposal, titled the “Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform” was vague and lacked any serious answers. While they recognized “that the circumstances and the conduct of people without lawful status are not the same, and cannot be addressed identically” and “individuals who entered the United States as minor children did not knowingly choose to violate any immigration laws”, they failed to map out exactly how minor children immigrants and parents of American citizens would earn a pathway to citizenship that