http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... -ID07.html

Governor vetoes limits on ID cards
Bill targeted Mexico program

Elvia DÃÂ*az
The Arizona Republic
May. 7, 2005 12:00 AM

Gov. Janet Napolitano on Friday vetoed a bill that would have banned state and local governments from accepting Mexico-issued ID cards and all other foreign identification documents, such as passports.

Senate Bill 1511, which targeted the more than 102,000 Mexicans carrying the matricula consular cards in Arizona, would have required public entities to accept only IDs issued by Arizona, the federal government or an Indian tribe.

"Under this standard, no foreign government-issued documents - even passports - could be accepted or recognized by state and local government or law enforcement officials," Napolitano said in her veto letter to lawmakers.

Saying she had the support of people throughout the state to veto the bill, Napolitano noted that Arizona draws tourists from around the world who carry "reliable foreign government-issued identification."

"To say that Arizona law enforcement agencies cannot rely on, for example, a British passport for the purpose of identifying a London tourist makes no sense," she said, "and inappropriately hampers law enforcement's effectiveness."

Supporters of the bill had argued that foreign-issued cards, particularly the matricula consular, pose a danger to national security because the information and identities on them may be false. They also argued that terrorists could use the cards to establish themselves in the United States and acquire the services they need to live here until they could carry out an attack.

The matricula has become an essential part of the daily routine for increasing numbers of Arizonans, primarily undocumented immigrants who can't get an Arizona-issued ID card.