Almost Legal Illegal Mexican immigrants can access U.S. services with a new quasi-legal ID card issued by the Mexican government. Delaware Today, February 2003 Inside the Bourse Building in Philadelphia, across the street from the Liberty Bell, Jose quietly chats with his two friends at a lunch table. It's 1 p.m. on a chilly, overcast Tuesday, and the three men, in their mid-20s to early-30s, have driven here from Ocean County, N.J., so Jose can get an ID card. An hour ago, he filled out the necessary paperwork and had his picture taken inside the Mexican consulate office, headquartered at the Bourse. In 10 minutes, he will walk up the stairs to a tiny, cramped second-floor office and pick up his freshly printed consular ID card. It will be his first real proof of identity since coming to the United States. He says he's lived in the United States for four years, earning a living as a drywall worker, and he mumbles "yes" when I ask if he is living here legally, but before we go further, he asks for my business card to show I'm a writer, not an immigration agent. The consular ID card (matricula consular) has been issued by the Mexican government for more than a century, but until last year, it had no security features and was easily forged, so hardly any businesses accepted it as valid ID. The latest cards, which debuted in early 2002, have more hidden security features than most U.S. state drivers licenses, and the Mexican government touts them as guaranteed proof of its citizens' identities. The card has been hotly debated among businesses and local governments across the country because it's issued to both legal and illegal immigrants. States like California, Texas and Arizona have already widely accepted the cards as valid ID for many services, to the applause of Hispanic advocacy organizations. When the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia, which serves southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and all of Delaware, began issuing the cards in August 2002, nearly 100 people a day lined up outside its small office, clutching their birth certificates. For most, the card would be their first and only photo ID, since many if not most of its carriers are illegal aliens. Officially, the matricula consular is used by the Mexican government to track how many of its citizens live outside Mexico. Unofficially, though, the card has increasingly become acceptable ID for illegal immigrants in the United States, who can use the card to open a bank account, get a library card, and obtain other services. A cardholder can also use it in lieu of a passport to enter Mexico, and since passports are almost three times as expensive, the consular ID is billed as a more economic choice. The wallet-sized matricula consular is less bulky than a passport, making it easier to carry. Unlike a passport, though, it can't be used to re-enter the United States. Delaware immigrants and Delaware businesses could benefit if the cards become widely accepted as valid photo identification. Of the estimated 13,000 Mexican immigrants living in Delaware, says deputy consul Jacob Prado, only about half are documented. Those without any other documentation need the matricula consular to conduct simple financial transactions or even to verify their age when buying cigarettes or beer. "Of the population here that's Mexican, there's a big interest in it," says Margaret Zack, who works for the Georgetown Hispanic outreach program La Esperanza. The Philadelphia consulate makes trips several times a year to the Georgetown area, Prado says, and the sizeable Mexican population living there can apply for the matricula consular during these "mobile consulate" visits. The consulate also makes a stop at the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington three times a year. Marie Petrucelli, who works for the center, says the response to the card has been fair, but some immigrants are confused about what privileges the card offers. "People think that they can use them as state IDs and things like that," she says. However, the matricula consular is not a state ID nor a driver's license — it's merely a proof of Mexican citizenship. Legal Mexican immigrants usually carry other ID, like documents issued by the Department of Immigrant and Naturalization Services, to prove they're authorized to work in the United States, but some also keep a matricula consular as proof of their Mexican identity. Jose Avila, owner of Avila's Mexican Bakery in Wilmington, keeps his matricular consular in his wallet at all times. "I have a work permit from the INS, and I've got my Social Security Number," he says, "But the matricula consular, it proves you're Mexican." Rocio Vasquez, a Mexican consul at the Philadelphia office, notes that the cards don't change immigration status — an illegal alien with a consular ID card is still an illegal alien. Niki Edwards, a spokeswoman for the INS Philadelphia district office, says the INS does not endorse the matricula consular. "It may grant access to city services," she says, "but it does not pave the way to legal residence." Local banks that currently accept the card include First Union; the People's Bank of Oxford, which serves Avondale and Kennett Square, Pa.; and Commerce Bank, which accepts the card at its 9th and Shipley sts. location in Wilmington only through referrals from Hispanic community organizations. Artisans Bank, the Bank of Delmarva, and Wilmington Trust do not accept the card. WSFS and PNC do not presently accept the card but are reviewing their policies. Delaware public libaries recognize the consular ID, provided it carries a Delaware address, says Carol Fitzgerald, director of the Sussex County Department of Libraries. David Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington, D.C., advocacy organization, says these businesses should think twice before accepting the matricula consuar. He says the consular ID card awards illegal immigrants indirect amnesty. "The consular ID card is a card that's issued specifically to allow [Mexicans] to sidestep U.S. immigration laws. Any bank or other organization that accepts these cards as a form of ID is committing a felony by aiding an illegal alien," he alleges. "You can't divorce yourself from your civic responsibilities just because you want to make a buck in banking," Ray says. "The banks are citizens of this country. They have a responsibility. By accepting these cards, they're completely eviscerating the government's ability to control who comes into the U.S." Edwards notes, though, that the INS is more immediately concerned with pursuing criminal and terroristic aliens, human traffickers and those committing employment-related immigration offenses than with investigating suspected illegal aliens for opening bank accounts. Vasquez says she understands that illegal aliens shouldn't be encouraged, but that even they deserve basic protections against imprisonment or theft and other crimes. Having an ID can help guard against temporary imprisonment, she says. Detainment is sometimes used by police when a person can't produce identification, says Trinidad Navarro of the New Castle County Police Department. Traffic violations usually don't warrant this imprisonment, but if a person is arrested for a serious crime, he or she may be held in jail until his or her identity can be established. "The truth is, you don't know if that person could be wanted for a major crime," Navarro says. The matricula consular may also help prevent robberies, Vasquez says. Immigrants who can make regular deposits in a bank account don't have to keep large amounts of cash stored in their homes, which in the past has made them prone to robberies, she says. These robberies tend to go unreported because illegal immigrants often don't contact the police for fear of being reported to the INS. Vasquez says Mexican immigrants without bank accounts are also being taken advantage of by check-cashing and money-transfer services, which often charge exorbitant fees, she says, because they know illegal immigrants have no other options. "[Immigrants] are being overcharged," Vasquez says. "We have to give them the means to send money to Mexico and not be abused." Zack says Mexican women who have no form of ID are especially vulnerable to violent crime. "I work with domestic violence victims," she says. "When we go to the court, a lot of things have to be notarized. Well, you can't [notarize documents] if you don't have a photo ID. For safety's sake, it's just really essential." Ray acknowledges that illegal immigrants should have some recourse to report violent crimes like spousal abuse; however, he thinks aliens have already consented to other risks, like the denial of common services, by trying to sidestep immigration laws. "People argue that illegal aliens are having a hard time living in the U.S. That is called a deterrent," he says."Denying them access to those things is a key component of an interior immigration enforcement strategy. If you want to come here and get on the track to the American Dream, you need to start the immigration process legally." Ray says FAIR is particularly concerned about granting illegal aliens bank accounts. "Here you have banks — they're in the business of making money. They're going to open up a bank account and make money off it to anyone who can possess these cards. You have foreign governments who are very willing to issue these cards: Mexico, Guatemala, and now Poland is considering it. It's an open invitation to terrorism." But Vasquez sees the large number of illegal immigrants in the United States as a reality that must be faced and dealt with compassionately. "It's something we don't promote but can't avoid." At the Bourse Building, Jose gets his card and walks down the stairs to join his friends. He examines the card, flipping it to see the hologram. Around the Bourse, there are other Mexicans similarly marveling at their new IDs. Jose's friend Garcia, a waiter who has lived in the United States for one year, already has a matricula consular. He says the card has made it much easier for him to go about his daily life. His family still lives in Mexico, but he does not plan to return there. "This is the new option," he says. Shaun Gallagher is Delaware Today's managing editor.