Thread: Banking on immigrants

Banking on immigrants
Tracy Press/ Friday, 16 February 2007

Second Thoughts by Jon Mendelson

A report by The Wall Street Journal earlier in the week made national news of a small Bank of America pilot program in which 51 Los Angeles County bank branches are offering credit cards to people without Social Security numbers, the golden tickets to the United States’ chocolate factory.

This was — and is — big news, not because Bank of America found a new way to grow its business, but because illegal immigrants, who have no real way to get an SSN legally, are likely to take advantage of the offer along with legal residents.

It’s no mystery why the bank chose Southern California as its financial laboratory — it has a large population of people who are in the country illegally, as well as many resident aliens who don’t have SSNs. The program could go national later this year, which would likely include banks in the Central Valley, which also has a sizeable population of immigrants.

Executives like Brian Tuite, the bank’s director of Latin America card operations and one of the program’s backers, have told the media that they thought it would “give (immigrants) a chance to achieve that quality of life” consistent with the American Dream.

Whoever thought quality of life would be such a touchy subject

Many have accused the “Bank of anti-America” of aiding and abetting criminals, enticing illegal immigrants to flood the border, and that it’s even making it easier for terrorists — ah yes, those ever-present terrorists — to find refuge in the United States. Some have gone so far to say that the program violates 1907 Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) of the federal immigration code, even though similar Citibank and Wells Fargo programs have been in place for some time.

Sure, this is an attempt to capitalize on the huge market of illegal immigrants living within our borders. But since the government has done little to address the very complex issue of immigration — save appropriating money to erect the border fence to nowhere — it’s no surprise that businesses are responding to needs created by a vacuum of leadership. And that might not be a bad thing.

This program could encourage some of the most marginalized folks in the United States to become part of the financial mainstream without calling on the government to lift a finger or spend a dime. The bank assumes the hazards associated with lending money to “high-risk” individuals. And Bank of America customers who fear that this program will somehow increase banking fees can always switch banks. I, for one, am not worried.

The SSN-free credit card program also fosters personal responsibility. It requires that a prospective cardholder have a Bank of America checking account for three months, with no overdrafts, prior to receiving a card. It also requires, in lieu of an SSN, a foreign consular card and an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (available regardless of immigration status through the Internal Revenue Service).

Bank of America’s program, if successful, could help a class of previously neglected people financially improve themselves. It encourages the use of banks instead of check-cashing and payday-advance outfits that usually charge very high transaction fees, a bonus for low-income workers. It’s a way for immigrants to build credit so they can apply for loans with better terms and eventually increase their purchasing power. It could even help them assimilate — one of the biggest gripes of immigration hard-liners — by helping them become financially secure so they don’t strain our safety net of services.

Furthermore, by encouraging banking it encourages immigrants to keep their money in the U.S. economy, as workers here send back an estimated $10 billion annually to Mexico alone.

The sticking point — as it usually is with hot-button issues — is a rhetorical one. Mainly, that it’s a program designed to help “criminals” and that this will only encourage more to call the United States home.

By and large, the only crime illegal immigrants have committed is that they want to improve their lives. Most come here to find work, just as Irish, Italian and German immigrants did in years past. There’s no shame in that. There is shame, however, that our government has ignored the issue of illegal immigration for years and then, in an election year, built the “Great Wall of America.”

If anything, this should be a wake-up call to those in Washington, D.C., who so far have done a lot of complaining but little compromising. It’s no secret that America profits from illegal laborers, that millions seek out the U.S. as the land of opportunity and will do anything to get here, or that an uncontrolled number of immigrants can strain our already overburdened health care and education systems, a trend that cannot continue.

What is needed is a bill much like the one suggested by President Bush that includes a guest worker program (an obtainable, legal opportunity for those who want to improve their lives), an earned citizenship program for those who are already here (much more sensible and humane than massive deportations and continued marginalization) and enforcement of border and labor laws.

It’s time for Congress to get this nonbinding resolution business over with so that it can focus on binding issues of national interest. But don’t expect private companies to ignore a potential gold mine when the government’s done nothing to control access to the Mother Lode.

Jon Mendelson is a copy editor at the Tracy Press. To contact him about his weekly column, e-mail jmendelson@tracypress.com.

http://tracypress.com/content/view/7898/2/

It’s a way for immigrants to build credit so they can apply for loans with better terms and eventually increase their purchasing power. It could even help them assimilate — one of the biggest gripes of immigration hard-liners — by helping them become financially secure so they don’t strain our safety net of services.

No they'll just make it harder for honest Americans to qualify and then still be stuck with higher rates or something to "compensate" for their losses. Many of these people have been here 20 years and many have been through our public school system and still can't say a sentence in English. Assimilate? Why? They have it much easier being illegal!

I believe the proper response can be accomplished in 5 simple letters:

OBL BS

could help a class of previously neglected people financially improve themselves

The only way they will "financially improve themselves" is if they skip out on the debt. Otherwise the words, credit card and financially improve, do not belong in the same sentence. Since credit bureaus are tied to SSN's, the only credit they can build is with the bank that issues the card.

Originally Posted by PhredE

I believe the proper response can be accomplished in 5 simple letters:

OBL BS

Looks like that pretty much sums it up.