Posted on 09/14/2004 9:23:09 PM PDT by Conservative Firster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to support a Bush administration plan to allow the use of Mexican identification cards to open U.S. bank accounts. The House voted 222 to 177 remove language in an $89.9 billion bill funding the Transportation and Treasury Departments aimed at preventing the use of the cards. The House has yet to vote on the overall bill.
The White House and Treasury Department support the cards, known as "matricula consular," which have opened bank doors for many new(illegal)immigrants who lack any form of U.S.-issued identification, allowing them to open accounts and send money back home without having to pay expensive wire-transfer fees.
Critics say the cards are too easy to fake and could be used by terrorists.
"They use these cards to obtain drivers licenses and, guess what, they could get on an airplane and blow it up," said Rep. Randy Cunningham, a Republican from California.
Supporters say the cards are useful as it is better to have some form of identification than none at all.
Mexican officials insist the identification is safe. It was revamped in March of 2002 to include more safety features, which make it hard to forge.
They also say that applicants are screened by specially trained consular officers and the feeder documents proving Mexican nationality are checked with databases in Mexico.
According to data from the Mexican foreign ministry, over 2.2 million of the cards have been issued since March 2002 and 178 financial institutions and 1,180 police departments in the United States accept them as proof of identity.
The Inter-American Development Bank and Treasury Department have backed the matricula as a way for Mexicans to open bank accounts and send billions of dollars in remittances back to their families in Mexico.
Why not allow them for voting?
Some things just leave you speechless.
Nothing is hard to forge anymore -- all you need is the new Microsoft Forger software I read about on FR last night.
You said it. Its things like this that make me question why I continue to support the alleged 'conservative' party. This type of leftwing-style pandering is getting harder and harder to stomach.
But then I remember the alternative is even worse. But that rationale does not do much to get me excited about voting.
My vote for Bush will be due more to the fact that his opponent is the unbearable John Kerry than to his own performance.
GMTA
Don't like that idea.
EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN CITIZEN SHOULD GET A MATRICULA CONSULAR CARD. AND USE IT TO EVADE TAXES.
>>>" a Bush administration plan to allow the use of Mexican identification cards "
The reason conservatives might have to stay home on election day.
Hoppy
Bet the Yeas were predominantly Dems. The papers will label this as 'Bush Courageously Goes Against His Own Party, Backs Poor, Oppressed Mexican Immigrants, Forced to Live in Poverty and Obscurity by Evil Americans'.
Looking forward to all the excuses, dissembling and political triangulation theories. Haven't had a good laugh tonight.
And this is only an appetizer. The REAL sell-out will occur after the election.
its part of the plan to merge the us with mexico.
the mexicans raid the federal treasury. the pubbies get cheap labor. the dems get cheap votes. the us citizen foots the bill. what's not to like.
(according davos plans eurozone was going to merge with turkey--but likely they'll welch on the deal.)
The matricula consular is prima facie proof that the bearer should be deported. The Mexican government considers it worthless as valid ID within Mexico.
The FTAA treaty. If folks didn't like 245i, they are going to hate the FTAA.
And yet it can be used inside the United States as legitimate ID to board an airliner.
The excuse is that "it's issued by a government".
Seriously.
Why does Bush support this crap? Since legal immigrants are likely to have a green card or some other form of ID, it's obvious that the MCs are helpful to ILLEGAL immigrants!
Anybody have that picture of George W. Bush wearing a Mexican hat?
The Mexicans probably need the matricular cards to collect social security. The way things are going Mexico will be granted social security by Christmas.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.