MCALLEN – The city of McAllen noted an increase in requests for birth certificates possibly due to changing immigration policies.

Marta Herbert visited the Mexican consul in McAllen to request Mexican citizenship for her U.S.-born daughter.

“We can only accept the situation and make the right decisions to avoid living in fear,” she said.

Before visiting the consul, Herbert said she had to get a copy of her daughter’s U.S. birth certificate.

McAllen’s Vital Statistics Office is located down the street from the consulate. They said they are seeing more traffic of people trying to get copies of these documents.

McAllen city manager Roy Rodriguez said the office had 889 requests for birth certificates last October. He said the number has increased ever since.

The office received more than 1,400 requests for February.

“That’s over a 500 increase between 889 and 1400,” Rodriguez said.

Although the increase started after the general election last November, the city manager said he can’t pin it as a reason.

“Well, we’ve got a couple of theories, but I don’t have any evidence one way or the other,” he said.

Herbert said she and her family moved back to Mexico. She said they plan on coming back to the U.S. as soon as possible, but with proper documents.

The Mexican consulate in McAllen said they have been booked with various requests every day. They said many nationals are requesting dual citizenship for their U.S.-born children.

Online and mail requests for birth certificates are also an alternative way to get a hold of these documents.

The office requires a valid photo ID for certificate requests. There is also a list of acceptable secondary forms of identification. The person would need to provide two items from that list.