“Mexico’s Illegal-Alien ID Card: Should It Be Valid in the United States?”
A Panel Discussion
June 12, 2003
The Nixon Center, Washington, DC
Speakers in a recent panel discussion co-sponsored by the Nixon Center and the Center for Immigration Studies expressed considerable concern about the use of Mexico’s “matricula consular” card by illegal immigrants. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Marti Dinerstein, president of Immigration Matters and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, and Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, argued that the cards undermine U.S. national security, the American economy, and U.S. citizenship and sovereignty. Mark Krikorian moderated the discussion.
The Matricula Card: Mexico’s Answer to Heightened Border Security
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, amnesty to illegal immigrants abruptly ended, as U.S. borders became an acute security concern. According to Ms. Dinerstein, Mexico adapted to this change in U.S. border security by crafting a new migration policy centering on the use of the matricula card, which she described as a vehicle to achieve at least quasi-legal status for its undocumented population in the U.S.
Dinerstein said that Mexico had to include security features on the card and enhance the authentication process in order for the matricula to be accepted in the United States. She added that recently, Mexico made the card bilingual, included a local U.S. address, and added anti-counterfeiting technology, all of which have increased the reliability of the card. Still, she argued, though these new safeguards certainly help, the matricula still falls short of being a secure identity document.
Dinerstein explained that breeder documents (documents used to obtain matricula cards) are not being accurately crosschecked and corroborated with records in Mexico. Moreover, she said, same day issuance, often from remote locations with no sophisticated communications equipment, creates security weaknesses in the authentication process.
Ms. Dinerstein suggested that these security weaknesses have led to the growth of matricula card fraud, such as a case in Denver in which the INS picked up a man carrying three matricula cards bearing his photograph but showing three separate names. In her view, the Mexican government must invest tens of millions of dollars in order to secure the authentication process. Mexico says that it is building a databases system that will corroborate breeder documents, but is unable to estimate when that system will be operational. In the meantime, she said, Mexican consulates continue to issue unsecured matricula cards to illegal Mexican immigrants.
According to Dinerstein, Mexico continues to claim that the matricula is a secure identification document, and has initiated a grassroots lobbying campaign to win acceptance at the local level in the United States. “They do not in any way try to keep this a secret,” she said. “In fact, in a recent trip to Washington, Mexico’s foreign minister himself confirmed that this was their strategy. Mexico’s lobbying has born fruit. As of December 30, 2002, an official Mexican document announced that 74 banks accepted the matricula, as did 13 states to obtain a driver’s license, and more than 800 law enforcement agencies.”
More broadly, Dinerstein asserted, the matricula is transforming the lives of illegal immigrants, making it far easier for them to remain in the United States and continue to send a large portion of their earnings back home. She reported that remittances to Mexico totaled $10 billion in 2002, and has become an essential part of Mexico’s economy.
While Mexico has stated that the matricula does not change the immigration status of the immigrant, Ms. Dinerstein warned that it comes close to achieving the functional equivalent. In localities where the matricula is accepted, she said, it has reduced the chances that an illegal Mexican immigrant will be arrested, jailed or deported. Ms. Dinerstein emphasized the fact that Mexico does not confer those privileges, but rather local governments.
Ms. Dinerstein concluded that local police and communities have become more willing to accept the matricula because they believe that some identification is better than none. However, because arrests are very rarely made for minor incidents, no background checks are run and no criminal databases are checked. As a result, she stated, “The matricula has become a shield that hides any past criminal activity.”
Attack on U.S. Citizenship and Sovereignty
Rep. Tancredo expressed concern that the matricula allows illegal immigrants to obtain almost all of the rights bestowed upon a U.S. citizen, including, in some states, a driver’s license, the ability to vote in local elections, access to social services and public housing, and state funding for college. With these services available to illegal immigrants, Rep. Tancredo asked what makes citizenship distinct from illegal status. In his view, the matricula card is a tactic to kill the concept of U.S. citizenship.
Rep. Tancredo noted that the issuance of identification cards by foreign consulates is not a specifically Mexican policy. In fact, he said, the United States has issued similar cards in the past to citizens that had lost their identification papers while abroad. However, he pointed out that these cards have never been used to the extent that the Mexican government is using them now.
Rep. Tancredo explained Mexico’s policy by referencing a discussion he had with Juan Hernandez, head of the government ministry for Mexicans living in the United States. In his discussion with Minister Hernandez, Rep. Tancredo was told that the ministry’s purpose was to maintain and increase the flow of people from Mexico into the United States while preserving the cultural and social identity of Mexican emigrants. Rep. Tancredo highlighted the Mexican government’s benefit in sending illegal immigrants to the United States by pointing out that 20 to 30 percent of Mexico’s GDP comes from remittances from Mexicans abroad.
Rep. Tancredo emphasized the inconsistency within the U.S. government over the use of the matricula card. For example, he said, the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua sent a memo to the State Department asking for advice on how to help the Nicaraguan government develop its own matricula card. At the same time, a Homeland Security Department position paper argues that the federal government should not accept the matricula card due to its many inherent problems and security risks.
The Broader Assault
Mark Krikorian concurred with Rep. Tancredo that the matricula is part of the broader attack on the concept of citizenship. In effect, he said, it is a challenge by the Mexican government to American sovereignty. “What we’re seeing is actually a quite conscious effort to establish a condominium, a kind off joint sovereignty, over a large part of the United States population shared by the United States government and the Mexican government.”
Krikorian warned that this effort is not confined to immigration policy. For instance, he said, the Labor Department is now funding a program to offer safety training to illegal aliens at Mexican consulates.
Finally, Krikorian stressed that Mexico thinks of itself as the vanguard in this fight for matricula acceptance and is also pushing for wider U.S. acceptance of matricula cards from other countries. He contended that this trend will not stop in Central and South America, and may even broaden to countries form which terrorists are known to come.
This program brief was prepared by Nixon Center intern Wylie Clark.
