Thread: New ID law in Arizona stirs worries for immigrants

New ID law in Arizona stirs worries for immigrants

By Alia Beard Rau
May. 31, 2011
The Arizona Republic

Consulate-issued cards will no longer be recognized

Amid the controversial illegal-immigration measures that failed to win enough legislative support this year, one bill did pass.

Starting July 20th, state and local government entities no longer will recognize photo-ID cards issued by foreign consulates.

The cards often are the sole form of photo identification for individuals living in another country who do not have a passport or a local driver's license.

Some state lawmakers have been trying to pass the law for years as part of a larger push to keep illegal immigrants out of Arizona.

They say the ID cards are too easy to fraudulently attain and give the inaccurate impression that all cardholders are in the country legally.

Immigrant-advocacy groups worry the new law will leave some immigrants without a form of identification and further dissuade them from reporting crimes to law enforcement.

The law, Senate Bill 1465, further distinguishes Arizona in its stance on illegal immigration.

More than 30 states accept the cards as a legitimate form of photo identification for citizens of other countries.

In past years, several Arizona city councils, including Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler and Mesa, have voted to officially accept the cards.

Sometimes called "matricula consular" cards, the IDs are issued by some foreign governments to their citizens living, both legally and illegally, in another country.

The cards show in which country individuals hold citizenship as well as their U.S. residential address.

Cardholders use them to open bank accounts, set up utility services, acquire library cards and, to varying degrees, prove their identity to law enforcement.

In Arizona and the United States, the Mexican Consulate is the dominant distributor of the cards.

According to a 2005 congressional report, more than 4 million Mexican consular ID cards have been issued in the United States.

Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, who sponsored SB 1465, said the law stemmed from concern that the Mexican government does not adequately verify the identity of individuals before issuing them a card.

"This is definitely not a secure method of ID," Gould said.

He said if the Mexican government wants to provide a secure form of identification for its citizens living in the U.S., it can do so with a passport.

The Mexican Consulate's office in Arizona disputed that the cards are not secure and could be fraudulently acquired.

Spokeswoman Socorro Córdova said in an e-mail that the cards are issued "solely upon a rigorous confirmation of nationality, local residence and identity."

Arizona lawmakers have been trying to get the law passed for nearly a decade. In 2005, it passed the Legislature but was vetoed by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Among the reasons listed in her veto letter was concern that it could push foreign nationals to illegally acquire other forms of identification, including forged Social Security cards.

The new law will not affect immigrants' ability to use the cards at private businesses.

For example, many banks accept the card as adequate identification to set up an account.

The law forbids, for example, a city from accepting a consular ID card as the only required identification to get a library card or a police officer accepting the card as an official means of identification during an investigation.

Phoenix intergovernmental liaison John Wayne Gonzales said that the cards sometimes are accepted as one of several documents someone may provide to verify identity but that they are not accepted as a primary source of identification.

"Police may look at them if they are available but will not use them as a source of official identification," Gonzales said.

Phoenix Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the new law will have little impact on law enforcement or how police deal with immigrants.

Immigrants are concerned.

"People need a way to identify themselves in order to report crime when they are a victim or witness, and they were accustomed to using (consular) ID," said Connie Andersen, a member of the Valley Interfaith Project, an organization of churches, schools and non-profit agencies.

"This now tells them they have to put that away. Some people don't have alternative forms of ID. Now, they're not sure what to do."

She said the new law is giving immigrants more reason to avoid law enforcement.

Some immigrants, she said, have misunderstood the law and now think it is a crime to carry the cards.

Indiana this year passed a law that does make it illegal to use cards issued by foreign consulates.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit challenging that law.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... cards.html

These cards should have NEVER been used In any form of transaction or Identification here In the United States. As a legal U.S citizen, a bank REQUIRES me to have a social security number to open an account or apply for a loan. These cards are worthless and useless forms of I.D that our own Federal government has encouraged the use of for decades. The I 9 form Is another tool that Illegals use to weasel their way Into this country Illegally and should be outlawed. Banks should be prohibited from opening accounts or giving loans to Illegal aliens period !

Good the cards should have Never been used
worry your Ass off
NO amnesty

are you kidding me?? we are suppose to trust the Mexican Counsulate offices who gives these worthless pieces of paper? They give them to criminals that they sent to out country, illegals are criminals !! what part of illegal do you people not understand !? Oh yah! they use them to open bank accounts while American citizens have to have at least two forms of ID's including a social security number (real one)

I'm a retired California Peace Officer (Sgt). these people can buy almost any form of ID om most street corners in large cities. This is a majopr reason why the county's mortgage industry went down the toilet. thousands of illegals being given loans on new houses the bank knew they couldn't afford, defaulted on with us ! the citizens of this nation to pay for the "Stimlus" for these banks, mortgage companies and their executives, while the tax payers take it in the rear end again !

sned em all back to their countries of orgin ASAP while we still have an economy

Immigrants are concerned. "People need a way to identify themselves in order to report crime when they are a victim or witness, and they were accustomed to using (consular) ID," said Connie Andersen, a member of the Valley Interfaith Project, an organization of churches, schools and non-profit agencies.

"This now tells them they have to put that away. Some people don't have alternative forms of ID. Now, they're not sure what to do."


...Guess you didn't get your passport stamped, then? It's funny how everyone else does!



She said the new law is giving immigrants more reason to avoid law enforcement. Some immigrants, she said, have misunderstood the law and now think it is a crime to carry the cards.



Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, not even for citizens.



Indiana this year passed a law that does make it illegal to use cards issued by foreign consulates. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit challenging that law.


Hasn't the ACLU ever heard of INTERNATIONAL TREATIES?? That is what determines what ID a foreign citizen needs to carry!!

Illegals need to be scared to death of it. NO ID then back to tacoland you go!!!!!!

All these do good liberals make me sick, gullible to the max they are. The illegals are dumb like a "Fox"! How is these non educated by the most part, slip under then fence and know of every written public entitlement on the books? demand it and are given it with absolutely no questions asked.?

The Arizona passes a lw that will slow down the invasion of illegals into their state and our President and his (Goon) U.S. Attorney General run down to Artizona to sue the state ! Under State's Rights in that ole thing called the United States Constitution gives the states rights to pass and enforce their borders !

What we now have folks is our Government working against their own citizens in favor of illegals and Mexico !

The funny part of this is mexico won't even accept this card as a legal form of I.D. but we're supposed to! These people should fear the police their NOT supposed to be here! They should fear just going outside and walking down the street! The problem is they don't fear anything in america! They weren't afriad of the border patrol that's for sure!

"This now tells them they have to put that away. Some people don't have alternative forms of ID. Now, they're not sure what to do."

I could tell them what to do........

Another way Mexico tries to interfere in our government. They are slowly, little by little, imposing their will on our country.

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In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a migration deal with Mexico was tabled while attention turned to homeland security. So the Mexican government abruptly changed its White House strategy and substituted a grass-roots approach that would focus at the local level, seek small successes, and build momentum for congressional action. The linchpin for this new strategy was to be the “matricula consular,â€