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Many 9/11 Families Opposed to Collins' Bill By Peter Gadiel Dec 13, 2004, 08:57 Editor, Sen. Collins persists in claiming that her intelligence reform bill passed because of "the overwhelming support of family members of 9-11 victims." Our organization, 9/11 Families for a Secure America wants to tell the people of Maine that her claim is false. The members of 9/11 FSA, all of whom are relatives of 9/11 victims, represent the families of 300 of those victims. We vociferously opposed the Collins bill in numerous Capitol Hill press conferences, a fact which cannot have escaped Sen. Collins notice. To...

INHOFE SAYS INTELLIGENCE REFORM BILL OVERLOOKS MAJOR ISSUES Wednesday, December 8, 2004 WASHINGTON--U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) today voted against the final passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (S.2845), which was eventually approved by the Senate (89-2). "Today I joined the majority of our Oklahoma delegation in voting against the final passage of this bill," Inhofe said. "While there where many provisions I agreed with, unfortunately there were also glaring omissions that where impossible to overlook and caused me to oppose final passage. "Stripped from the final version of this bill were five provisions...

Consular visits to Orange County cities bestow IDs to immigrants, many of them undocumented, for consumer uses. More than 500 Mexican immigrants arrived at a mobile consular office in San Juan Capistrano on Sunday to get controversial ID cards while hearing pitches from a bank and a real estate agent. Sponsored by a south Orange County nonprofit immigrant advocacy group and the county's Mexican consulate, the event's main attraction was the chance to get a matricula consular. snip ... Because many immigrants have work-hour restrictions during the week and limited transportation, the consulate's mobile and weekend efforts draw big crowds,...

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...

(Washington, D.C.) Yesterday, during full committee markup, the House Appropriations Committee defeated an amendment by a vote of 26-25 which would remove a harmful provision in the 2005 appropriations bill for transportation and treasury agencies. The misguided language, originally authored by Congressman John Culberson (R-TX) during a subcommittee markup last week, attempts to block financial institutions from accepting the Mexican Consular ID card, also known as the matrícula consular, as a valid form of ID for opening bank accounts. NCLR supported efforts by Congressman Ed Pastor (D-AZ) and other members to remove the Culberson amendment language, which undermines the final...

SAN MARCOS – The state's largest insurer is encouraging Mexican nationals living in California to apply for health insurance by using the "matricula consular," an identification card issued by the Mexican General Consulate. Blue Cross of California officials visited North County Health Services in San Marcos yesterday as part of a statewide effort to spread the word that Mexican immigrants can qualify for private insurance even if they don't have Social Security numbers. Blue Cross joins Health Net of California as the first insurance providers in this state to accept the matricula consular cards as official identification, a nod to...

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...

Pick up any newspaper and the headlines are typically about the 9/11 Commission querying what advance warning was available, and what actions (if any) were taken to combat the growing terrorist threat. Even as the press is in a tizzy about these seeming revelations, the FBI has not only identified one glaring hole in the nation's security system but also pointed out its risks, yet has provoked only a collective yawn in response. The reason, I surmise, is that the FBI is pointing fingers at one of the most sacred of cows: the Matricula Consular program, or MCAS (for Matricula...

Other consular IDs welcome City officials like Mexican plan results, want to add other countries Two years after accepting Mexican consulate identification cards as valid forms of identification in Los Angeles, city officials on Friday announced plans to accept ID cards from scores of other countries. Amid concerns about security and encouraging illegal immigration, Los Angeles joined other Southwestern cities in 2002 in recognizing the Mexican photo identification card known as matricula consular . Mayor James Hahn and Councilman Eric Garcetti said Friday that there have been no problems associated with the consular cards and that the city should extend...

A Wake County Superior Court judge on Friday refused to stop the state from enforcing new rules that would make it harder for Mexican immigrants to get driver licenses and state-issued identification cards. Wake Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens said the state Division of Motor Vehicles had the authority to stop accepting Mexican identification cards and other forms of ID without holding public hearings. Two Latino groups filed suit Thursday to try to block the state from enforcing the rules until the public had a chance to comment on them. Barring a successful appeal, the state will begin enforcing the...

TAKE ACTION: Call, Write, and Email your Representatives and Talk Shows in opposition to the Mexican Social Security Raid and the use of Mexican "ID" Cards.Rep. Ron Paul has introduced H.R. 489, the "Social Security for Americans Only Act of 2003", which will block the Mexican raid on Social Security.Please ask your Congressman and Senators to join as a "co-sponsor" of the bill and to vote for H.R. 489.Please contact the White House (202-456-1111), email and ask that the President not sign the agreement with Mexico. Donate Now to help us stop this raid. Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues...

Legend has long held that illegal aliens give American citizens cheap lettuce and cheap child care. Excepting for agribusiness and the upper classes, that legend is, in reality, a nightmare, in which the American middle and working classes pay and pay and pay for illegal immigration, and get nothing but grief in return. In states with heavy illegal alien populations, the budget of a middle-class family is full of hidden illegal alien surcharges. As a result, today’s middle-class American family with two full-time working parents has less discretionary income than its traditional forebear, in which the father alone was...

The Bush administration nearly reached agreement with the Vicente Fox government to give legal status to millions of Mexicans illegally in America, but Sept. 11 brought it to a halt. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday it's time for a legal status short of citizenship for 8 to 12 million illegal immigrants from various countries. The government would legalize the status of those already in the country on a one-time basis, he said. ''Then, as a country, you make a decision that from this day forward, this is the process of entry, and if you violate that process of...

A coalition including Citibank, Bank One, and 33 other banks—banded together as the New Alliance Task Force—are rolling out a model loan program meant to bring undocumented Chicago immigrants into the mortgage mainstream. A few lending pioneers already provide home financing to immigrants with no Social Security numbers, and the task force's hotly debated plan provides guidance to other banks that are interested in following this lead. Without Social Security identification, banks can quantify applicants' credit risk by contacting employers, landlords, and utilities; but the greater risk of extending credit to these borrowers is reflected by a higher interest rate....

<p>Bush administration officials yesterday angered lawmakers by refusing to take a position on illegal aliens obtaining U.S. driver's licenses and avoiding questions about its decision to recognize Mexican identification cards.</p> <p>Officials testifying before the House Select Committee on Homeland Security said they are reviewing what documentation is secure and reliable, but evaded direct questions on the matricula consular cards now accepted by California and New Mexico to obtain driver's licenses.</p>

Mexican nationals who spent much of yesterday waiting in line to apply for "matricula consular" identification cards expressed a wide range of reasons fro seeking them. More than 1,000 people lined up Glencliff High School in Antioch to apply for the cards, but because of preset limits only 650 people were able to apply, said Juan Carlos Lara, counsel for legal affairs at the Mexican Counselate office in Atlanta.

Has Montgomery County, Maryland, seceded from the Union? If only the federal government may promulgate and enforce immigration law, and conduct foreign relations, then Montgomery County is now a sovereign nation. Last week, the Montgomery County Council voted to accept the matricula consular (MC) card issued by the Mexican government, as legal ID for illegal immigrants seeking social services. That was not a typo. Actually, the council reportedly said “immigrants,” but the MC is only distributed by the Mexican government for use by illegal immigrants. For folks looking to engage in legal travel outside of Mexico, the Mexican government...

WASHINGTON - Businesses and cities that accept identification cards issued by Mexico to its citizens in the United States do so at their own risk because the documents are not fraud-proof, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday. The Mexican IDs are under review by a White House-led panel to determine if they pose a security risk and whether the cards should be accepted as proper identification. Known as the matricula consular, the card is issued by Mexico's consulates in the United States and shows the date of birth, a current photograph and the address of the cardholder. Many of...

LAREDO - Pedro Ramon Levia hopes that a controversial little card with his name, his address in the United States and his photograph will simplify his life. Levia, 28, lost his Oregon driver's license three months ago and has found himself living here legally with no ID card. No U.S. address appears on his legal documents, and he has encountered hassles from police and immigration officials because he couldn't produce that information, he said. This week, Levia was in the Mexican consul's office in Laredo applying for the matricula consular. "When you meet the police, they check you for ID,...

Thursday is the deadline for Americans to tell the Treasury Department in no uncertain terms they want to stop acceptance of the Matricula Consular - the Mexican consular ID card. Currently, the department has written bad regulations that allow banks to treat the unverifiable card as a secure identity document, opening the door to money-laundering, identity theft, and terrorists...[end excerpt, begin comments] See this page for the details. Sending your comments to the Treasury Department just involves filling out a web form, as described at that link. For background, see the FBI report here: http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/mccraw062603.htm "It is believed that consular...