Update:Due to protests and no doubt media attention, the Salvation Army announced they were not going to ask families to provide social security numbers in order to get gifts for their children.

Santa Claus has a list and he’s checking it twice. According to some charities, that list has to be cross-reference with the Department of Homeland Security. There have been numerous reports over the internet that some charities are requiring families asking for help for holidays show proof of legal status. So before you send your kids on Santa’s lap, make sure your papers are in order.

Some Houston charities have decided to confirm immigration status before conferring Christmas cheer. It’s about “making the best decisions about whom to help” these charities claim. And naturally, a few aren’t directly asking for proof of citizenship, just a birth certificate or demonstrated need via receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and/or Medicaid (both of these programs exclude undocumented residents).

One charity, the Salvation Army, known for it’s bell ringing Santas during the holiday season, has come forward to clarify, saying they don’t mean to discriminate but that they are avoiding fraud.

Salvation Army spokesman Juan Alanis spoke up Tuesday after a story in the Chronicle noted that both groups require birth certificates, Social Security numbers or other documents indicating immigration status. They said it’s not their intent to discriminate.

Alanis acknowledged that families cannot register for the Angel Tree program, which allows children to request specific gifts, unless one member of the family can present a Social Security number.

“It is not because we seek to discriminate. The Salvation Army is not in the business of verifying legal status,” he said. “We have to be good stewards. If we let people register without checking, that could be abused.”

The Salvation also said that so far using Social Security numbers has been the best way they have come up with so far.

Intention has little to do with actual outcomes. Given the current state of the economy and with no immigration reform bill on the table, seems like even at a time of the year when people are told to think of the less fortunate, only certain people qualify for that charity.

Via / RaceWire, Boing Boing