Plan Aims at Illegal Immigrant Finances

Illegal immigrants would be barred from transferring money to foreign countries under a proposal being floated by Howard Kaloogian, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Kaloogian said that, if elected, he would introduce legislation requiring people to show valid identification, such as a Social Security number and a driver’s license, before sending money from the United States to another country.

“Enough is enough, already,” he said at a news conference Thursday in Chatsworth. “Let’s make it so there are no incentives to people who come here illegally.”

The former assemblyman from Carlsbad is one of four major GOP candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Barbara Boxer.

His opponents in the March 2 primary include former California Secretary of State Bill Jones; Toni Casey, former mayor of the Bay Area city of Los Altos Hills; and former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin.

Kaloogian has built his campaign around the issue of illegal immigrants, opposing driver’s licenses and government services for them.

He has also described President Bush’s controversial guest worker proposal as mechanically and morally flawed, saying it would do too little to address the causes of illegal immigration.

Kaloogian acknowledged that people could get around his proposal by asking friends or relatives with valid identification to transfer money, but said his plan would “put another barrier” in their way.

He estimated that immigrants -- both legal and illegal -- had transferred more than $30 billion last year to Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, mainly using wire transfers.

The proposal received a less than enthusiastic reception from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which neither endorses nor opposes political candidates.

“We haven’t taken a position” on the issue, “but I imagine we would oppose it, because we believe immigrants should be allowed to participate in society and the economy,” said J.C. Flores, a spokeswoman.