Rush for passports in Bay Area amid uncertainty

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - Passport centers across the Bay Area and around the country have been packed lately - possibly due in part to concern about President Trump's stepped up immigration enforcement. 

A KTVU crew stopped by a San Jose passport center that's been overwhelmed lately. They can only process 30 applications a day and that means people have been showing up in the early hours of the morning to make the cut. 

Dozens of people lined up in the lobby of the post office on Branham Lane in San Jose hoping to either get a new passport or renew their existing passport.

A spokesman for the postal service says they've seen similar crowds lately at other passport offices around the Bay Area.

This rush may be partly in response to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown with federal agents aggressively enforcing immigration laws and the Trump administration still pushing for a travel ban from seven mostly Muslim countries.

Francisco Rodriguez and his wife were waiting to get their passports up to date before they travel to Mexico to visit family. 

But it's not only immigration fears leading to these long lines.

There's an increased demand right now because many people's passports are expiring 10 years after the US government began requiring them for travel to Mexico, Canada and South America. 

A postal service spokesman told KTVU the postmaster is aware of the long wait times at passport centers and is looking at ways to help more people. One possibility is opening up a mega passport office soon.