Features - Crónicas

Mexican Consular ID Cards. A good idea?

-- ID debate: Mexican consular cards at center of argument over national security

-- Recognizing Mexico's Matricula Consular as bona fide ID is a no-brainer

-- See Letters to Coloquio Online's Editor

ID debate: Mexican consular cards at center of argument over national security
By Timothy Pratt <timothy@lasvegassun.com> LAS VEGAS SUN

Gerardo Garcia had no idea he was stepping into a national controversy when he borrowed a pen to fill out a form at the Mexican consulate in downtown Las Vegas.

Garcia, a 21-year-old construction worker, was applying for a Mexican consular ID. About 23,000 people have done the same in the last year.

Most of those 23,000 people had no way to prove their identities to local banks and police before two significant events: the consulate opened in February 2002, and Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Bank of America and Metro Police decided to accept the cards, called matriculas consulares, as a legitimate form of identification.

In cities nationwide, 1.5 million Mexicans -- an unknown number of whom are in the country illegally -- have also obtained the ID in the last year, said Berenice Rendon, consul at the Las Vegas office.

Many of those people use the card to open bank accounts and to comply with authorities' demands for identification. In some states, the wallet-sized card is even accepted as one form of identification for obtaining a driver's license.

This has anti-immigrant groups and some members of Congress upset.

Mark Krikorian, director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, accuses the Mexican government of trying to advance a "de facto amnesty" for millions of undocumented immigrants. A recently published report by the center said the ID's growing acceptance undermines national sovereignty and the war against terrorism.

"The reason the Mexican government is pushing this is ... to incorporate illegals into the institutions of our society," Krikorian said.

Rep. Thomas Tancredo, R-Colo., chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, has introduced a bill to bar the ID from being used for obtaining services from federal agencies.

"We think only IDs issued by the U.S. government should be received," said Lara Kennedy, press secretary for Tancredo.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a member of the House Intelligence Committee and one of the congressional leaders chosen to push President Bush's legislation creating the Homeland Security Department, supports Tancredo's bill, and is considering becoming a co-sponsor, said Amy Spanbauer, spokeswoman for Gibbons.

"We have always had a problem with illegal immigration, especially in the last two years with the war on terrorism," Spanbauer said.

"By allowing illegal immigrants easier access into our country, it takes away from those who are working by the book to become legal residents or citizens," she added.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., was not available for comment, but her spokesman, Michael O'Donovan, cautioned that Tancredo's bill could have unintended consequences -- "such as barring the use of passports as identification by foreign nationals."

But several of the 100 or so Mexicans in line at the consulate in Las Vegas on Monday had other views on the issue.

Hector Hernandez, a landscaper in the Las Vegas Valley for the last 13 years and a U.S. citizen, was getting the card to make his twice-yearly visits to Hidalgo, Mexico, a little easier. The card is cheaper than a passport, and more convenient than the birth certificate he's carried with him for years on trips back home.

Hernandez may be uncommon, since many seek the ID because they are undocumented immigrants and lack any other form of identification. To obtain the card, applicants must show the consulate proof of nationality such as a birth certificate, proof of address such as a telephone bill, and an official document from Mexico or the United States.

Though the 31-year-old landscaper said the ID was a simple convenience for him, he said the wallet-sized card could have saved a friend's life two years ago.

His friend, Cipriano, was also a landscaper, and in the country illegally. Like many undocumented immigrants, he kept his money at home, unable to open a bank account. Other immigrants knew his payday schedule, broke into his apartment, and killed him, Hernandez said -- for $500.

"If he had had ID to open a bank account, maybe that wouldn't have happened," Hernandez said.

Nationwide and locally banks recognize the potential windfall represented by an estimated 3 million to 5 million undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

Wells Fargo has financed the printing of 200,000 pamphlets titled "The Matricula Consular and Banking Services," 6,000 of which are being distributed in Las Vegas. U.S. Bank has followed suit, with 50,000 pamphlets nationwide and 5,000 soon to be distributed locally. The banks wouldn't reveal the printing and distribution costs.

Jeanette Forrest, personal banker from a North Las Vegas branch of U.S. Bank, said new accounts have gone from an average of three to four per week to as many as 16 per week in the year since the bank has begun accepting the matriculas consulares.

Miriam Galicia Duarte, in charge of handling the issue for Wells Fargo, said that about 80,000 new accounts have been opened nationwide using the consular ID in the past year -- about 2 percent of all accounts.

"The initiative has been very successful," she said.

Ted Weahking, executive director for the Nevada Bankers Association, said that using the consular ID to open new accounts made sense to him.

"It seems like it would increase security for everyone ... and that's the role that banks have played for the longest time," he said.

But Tancredo and others see the cards being used to open bank accounts as a way of offering illegal immigrants access to American life.

Opponents of the card see it as just another example of why the card should not have official status in the United States.

"We oppose its use in general ... and think the legislation could have ripple effects on banks in the future," said Kennedy, Tancredo's spokeswoman.

When asked about Tancredo's effort, Alice Perez, Hispanic market manager for U.S. Bank, said, "It would be unfortunate for individuals who are contributing to our economy to not have access to financial services."

Banks aren't the only ones accepting the ID. Since last fall Metro Police officers have accepted the card "in non-critical situations where a person needs to identify themselves," said Lt. Stan Olsen, Metro's governmental liaison.

"(It) is an administrative issue, not a criminal one," he added.

The card helps save police time and resources when someone is stopped for a minor offense because lack of identification requires authorities to detain the person and verify his or her identity.

But opponents say that the cards threaten security, because police checks are not run on applicants. The Center for Immigration Study's report called it "a shield that hides past or current criminal activity."

The Mexican consulate has made presentations to police chiefs statewide on the ID and is distributing a card that allows authorities to "read" the matricula's hologram, to verify its authenticity.

About 2,000 of the "decoder cards" have been handed out to police and banks in Nevada, and more are on order, Rendon said.

Krikorian said these sorts of meetings are occurring nationwide and sees them as wrong.

"Mexican consulates ... lobbying local and state governments -- including police -- is simply inappropriate and not a function of a foreign government," he said.

At the consulate Monday Garcia didn't understand what the fuss was all about.

He said the matriculas are also good for the United States, since they offer a way to keep track of people.

"There are thousands of people out there that the government doesn't know about," he said.

"With this, they know who we are."

Recognizing Mexico's Matricula Consular as bona fide ID is a no-brainer

By Patrick Osio, Jr.

Opponents of Mexico's Matricula Consular, an ID issued to Mexican national living in foreign countries by Mexican consulates, claim the cards are issued only to illegal immigrants in the US. What foresight for Mexico to have known since 1871 when they started issuing them. Claims are made that only those illegally in the US need such cards. So then why are the cards available to Mexicans living in France, Germany, Italy, England, Spain, and all countries with Mexican diplomatic representation? And, why is it that other countries, such as France, have a similar card they issue their citizens living in foreign countries?

Mexico, like the US, encourages its citizens living abroad, to register with the nearest consulate. The US encourages registration to create, "...an official record of U.S. citizens, which will enable consular and diplomatic officers to furnish promptly and efficiently all services which are the inherent right and privilege of such citizenship." And that is exactly why Mexico has been encouraging its citizens to register for over 130 years.

Opponents also claim that the cards encourage illegal immigration. That Mexicans would risk death in the heat of deserts or freezing mountains after paying human smugglers $2000-$3000 to get a consulate ID in the US is very flawed thinking.

Ah, but opponents say that the cards can be false, that the Mexican government will give them to anyone. Since 1871, this has never been an issue - so why would the Mexican government want to give such a card to anyone? What benefit is there for Mexico to do so? Would they jeopardize their international relationships, break the conventions, and treaties that created the protocol that governs such activities? Something they've never done - not likely.

It is very possible that opponents just do not understand the wide range of services provided by foreign consulates to their citizens. These services including notarizing documents, registering birth, marriage and death certificates, assuring their citizens' legal and civil rights are respected and numerous other services. Once registered the services are available by simply producing the ID card at the Mexican consulate without having to on each occasion provide other proof of nationality.

But opponents really are upset that the Mexican ID cards are more and more being accepted by financial institutions to open bank accounts. This is wrong they say, and even illegal.

Opponents haven't done their homework here again. There are hundreds of thousands of checking and savings accounts in US bank opened and maintained by foreigners even from their own country. Most US banks along the borders have hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts belonging to Canadian or Mexican businesses and individuals. This practice is as old as banks along the border have existed.

That banks began accepting the Matricula Consular in addition to or in lieu of other ID was the result of the Mexican consulates pointing out that there were as many as 1 to 2 million Mexican citizens living in the US in need of their services. This represented a potential bonanza of new business for banks - in the best American tradition they went after that untapped market. That it has been a roaring success proves out what was pointed out to them. But it is still the banks that set the rules, which are the same as for all their clients.

But opponents say - what really is wrong is that the police will accept the Mexican card as identification - and that is wrong. So it's better for a person stopped by the police to not have identification? Suppose a person is stopped, and on showing the consular ID the cop says - "I can't accept this. Do you have other ID?" - "No'" comes back the answer. Now what? Haul him in as a suspected illegal immigrant? Suppose he isn't? Suppose the "crime" for being stopped is jaywalking? Or was a witness to a crime? Or the victim? If the person has committed a serious crime - what? It's better not to have ID?

Ah, but accepting the ID would jeopardize national security - excuse me but this one is really silly - How does it help national security to have several million people in our country without ID?

If this were a perfect world, there would be no illegal immigration - but it's not a perfect world, and we do have illegal immigration. Until that is resolved, having the Matricula Consular accepted is really a no-brainer.

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Patrick Osio, Jr. is the Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com). Contact him at: hispanicvista@cox.net