From the AP

WASHINGTON (Feb. 27, 2010) -- Native Puerto Ricans living outside the island

territory are reacting with surprise and confusion after learning their

birth certificates will become no good this summer.

A law enacted by Puerto Rico in December mainly to combat identity theft

invalidates as of July 1 all previously issued Puerto Rican birth

certificates. That means more than a third of the 4.1 million people of

Puerto Rican descent living in the 50 states must arrange to get new

certificates.

The change catches many unaware.

Julissa Flores, 33, of Orlando, Fla., said she knew nothing about Puerto

Rico's law.

"I was planning a trip and now I don't know," she said. "Do I need to go

get a passport? If my birth certificate is invalid, am I stuck here?"

People born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, are U.S. citizens at

birth. Anyone using a stolen Puerto Rico birth certificate could enter

and move about the U.S. more easily, which could also pose security

problems.

Puerto Rico's legislature passed the law after raids last March broke up

a criminal ring that had stolen thousands of birth certificates and

other identifying documents from several different schools in Puerto

Rico.

Puerto Ricans on average get about 20 copies of their birth certificates

over their lifetimes, said Kenneth McClintock Hernandez, the

commonwealth's secretary of state.

This is because they are regularly asked to produce them for such events

as enrolling children in school or joining sports leagues. Schools and

other institutions have typically kept copies, a practice prohibited

under the new law since January, McClintock said.

As much as 40 percent of the identity fraud in the U.S. involves birth

certificates from Puerto Rico, McClintock said he was told by the State

Department.

"It's a problem that's been growing and as the need in the black market

for birth certificates with Hispanic-sounding names grew, the black

market value of Puerto Rican birth certificates has gone into the $5,000

to $10,000 range," McClintock said.

Thus far, there seems to be little effort by the U.S. or Puerto Rican

governments to educate the 1.5 million people born in Puerto Rico and

living on the mainland about the new law.

Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., has been getting a steady stream of calls

about the law at his district office. Serrano - who must replace his

birth certificate, too - said he is trying to provide answers without

triggering a panic.

"No one has thought about what effect this could have, if any, on those

of us born in Puerto Rico who now reside in the 50 states," Serrano

said.

McClintock said a news conference held in Puerto Rico in December did

not draw national media attention he hoped would spread the word. He

noted there is no deadline for getting a new birth certificate. After

July 1, the government will issue a temporary, 15-day certificate for

those who need a birth certificate in an emergency.

The State and Homeland Security departments are deciding what to do for

passport applicants with invalid birth certificates, State Department

spokeswoman Adriana Gallegos said.

For now, Puerto Ricans are learning about the law from each other, news

reports and community groups. The information isn't always correct.

Carlos Vargas-Ramos, a researcher at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies

at Hunter College in New York, said he found out about the new law

through an e-mail from a Latino public policy group.

"You have to be plugged into networks to learn about it," said

Vargas-Ramos, whose father and sisters were born on the island.

Conchita Vallecillo, 66, of Fairfax, Va., read about the new law in a

Puerto Rico newspaper. She thought her age exempted her. "I didn't think

we would be affected, so it's one of those things that you don't pay

attention to," said Vallecillo, whose husband and four children also

were born in Puerto Rico.

There is no exemption for age. The law only waives the $5 fee for a new

birth certificate for people over 60 and for veterans.

Emilio Perez, president of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of

Central Florida, traveled to Puerto Rico to gather his own information

on the new law. He planned to post the information on the chamber's Web

site to help get information out.

About 47 percent of people of Puerto Rican descent in Florida, or

377,000 people, and 29 percent, or 318,000, in New York - states with

the largest Puerto Rican populations - were born on the island.