Move Opens to Stop Use of Mexican Immigrants’ ID Cards

A top congressional proponent of restricting immigration Wednesday launched a campaign to block the growing acceptance of identification cards issued by Mexican consulates to immigrants in the United States.

The photo ID cards, issued to more than 1 million Mexican immigrants last year alone and accepted by Los Angeles and many other local governments, are helping the undocumented stay in America, said Rep. Thomas G. Tancredo (R-Colo.).

“We need to stop attempts by Mexico to obtain locally what they could not get from the Congress -- that is, amnesty,” he said.

Tancredo is introducing legislation today to bar federal agencies from accepting the Mexican identity cards, called matricula consular in Spanish. He recently blocked a test program in San Francisco that allowed bearers to present the cards for access to federal buildings there.

The future of the matricula is the subject of discussions between the Bush administration and the Mexican government. The cards resemble a driver’s license, with “Mexico” printed prominently in the upper left-hand corner. In addition to name and birth date, they bear the cardholder’s address in the United States.

Asa Hutchinson, the Bush administration’s new border and transportation security chief, told reporters after his swearing-in Wednesday that Mexico is within its rights as a sovereign state to issue identification cards to its citizens.

But Hutchinson said that he has concerns about the potential for fraudulent use and whether the cards themselves are tamper-proof.

“We want to work with them to prevent fraud and abuse in our country,” Hutchinson said. “We just want to make sure the right protections are there.... These are practical problems that we have work through.”

Tancredo said he knows of cases in which criminals have used the cards and he questioned whether Mexican consulates in the United States adequately check the backgrounds of applicants.

“This is a card with no use, except by those living illegally in the United States,” Tancredo said. “It should not be accepted as proof of identification by state, local or federal agencies.” Estimates of the number of undocumented Mexicans in the U.S. range from about 3 million to 5 million.

A spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said the cards are secure as a means of identification. Consulates verify the identity information given by applicants and the cards themselves have features that would make them difficult to counterfeit, said Miguel Monterrubio.

“There is nothing in the matricula consular that will change a person’s migratory status in any country,” Monterrubio added. “A consular ID does not violate any federal law.”

The identification card can make daily life easier for undocumented immigrants.

For example, more than 70 U.S. banks -- including Wells Fargo and Bank of America -- accept the matricula as identification for opening an account. Having a bank account means immigrants don’t have to carry around large amounts of cash. It also facilitates wiring money back home.

The card can also keep traffic stops and other routine encounters with local police from escalating into arrests. More than 800 police departments in the U.S. now accept the matricula, according to the Mexican government.

“This prevents Mexicans from being subject to abuses or being forced to use false documents,” said a recent Mexican government statement on the program.

Prospects are uncertain for Tancredo’s legislation. Other Republicans are likely to defer to the Bush administration’s judgment on the issue, and Democrats would probably resist the bill. However, the issue is becoming increasingly prominent for Republicans who favor restrictions on immigration.

Defenders of the matricula argue that it enhances U.S. security.

“In a heightened security climate, I’d think we want people to reliably identify themselves,” said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group. “If we say that IDs issued by foreign governments are not valid, we are forcing people into a black market just to identify themselves.”

The issue is being closely watched by other Latin American governments. Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have announced they are planning to issue cards to their own citizens living here.