Posted on 06/03/2004 3:26:51 PM PDT by StoneColdGOP
WASHINGTON (January 28, 2003) -- "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
These are the words of a top official in Mexico's foreign ministry, describing his government's piecemeal approach to securing an amnesty for the 3 to 5 million Mexican illegal aliens in the United States, a strategy adopted in the wake of the new security environment in the U.S. after 9/11. The foremost tool in this strategy is the "matricula consular," or consular registration card, that Mexico hopes will be accepted by governments and businesses across the United States, giving illegal aliens legitimate ID to present law enforcement and to open bank accounts, among other uses, thus helping bring about a de facto amnesty.
The Center for Immigration Studies has published the first in-depth examination of the matricula consular and the role it plays in Mexico's attempt to shape U.S. immigration policy: "IDs for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular' Advances Mexico's Immigration Agenda," by Marti Dinerstein, a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and President of Immigration Matters.
Among the findings in the report:
* The matricula consular is useful in the United States only for illegal aliens, because legal immigrants, by definition, have U.S. government-issued documents.
* The Mexican government has launched an aggressive grassroots lobbying campaign to win acceptance for the matricula from state and local jurisdictions and from American banks, especially in areas where Mexican illegal aliens are concentrated.
* The U.S. Treasury Department has given its explicit approval to banks to accept the matricula for opening bank accounts.
* While many jurisdictions have resisted pressure from the Mexican government to accept the matricula, others have not; it is now accepted by 800 local law enforcement agencies and 74 banks, as well as 13 states for purposes of obtaining a driver's license.
"Mexico's marketing of its consular cards is a direct challenge to U.S. sovereignty," Dinerstein said. "By aggressively lobbying state and local governments to accept them, Mexico is changing America's de facto immigration policy in lieu of congressional action. And it has been doing so while the U.S. government watched -- or even gave its consent."
Other findings in the report:
* Not only does the matricula subvert U.S. immigration law, it is not even a secure identity document. Mexico is not authenticating the documents used to obtain the matricula against computerized data files in Mexico.
* Safeguards are not in place to prevent issuance of matriculas to the same individual; the INS has already reported finding multiple cards in different names issued to the same person.
* The matricula is becoming a shield that hides criminal activity, for two reasons: first, the holder's identity was not verified when the card was issued and second, police in jurisdictions that accept the matricula are less likely to run background checks on card holders picked up for minor infractions.
* The acceptance of Mexico's matricula consular sets a precedent, making it almost impossible to reject similar cards presented by illegal aliens from other countries, including those which have sent terrorists to the United States in the past.
The integrity of the matricula received fresh consideration just last week, when the U.S. General Services Administration suspended a pilot program in which a federal building in San Francisco accepted the matricula consular as valid identification to enter the building to access services. Additionally, in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier this month, 12 members of Congress questioned the spread of the card and called the lobbying by foreign consulates "a breach of international protocol deserving of a serious response by our government."
ping
A key incentive NOT to cooperate with Federal immigration laws would thereby be removed.
U.S. Constitution: "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress,...enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power,..."
Section 10 - Powers prohibited of States
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Is it possible to renounce my citizenship, re-enter the U.S. illegally, or overstay a visa, and then get a Matricula Consular card and receive free tuition for my kids, free health insurance, and welfare benefits?
This should have happened years ago, yet the Feds continue to ignore the law and have no intention of stopping the invasion. Sickening, isn't it? Taxation without representation all over again.
Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiBanks are spending millions, buying the best politicians they can, to support the matricular phony consular ID cards. They have gotten the Justice Department to recognize them as legal IDs. This phony ID opens up the market for US banks to charge fees to handle remittances-- which leave the country at a rate of about $35 billion a year.
You see, to these corporations, nations mean nothing and they are only interested in the leverage against their global competitors they can purchase from our politicians in Washington.
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