Source in France!
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http://www.spcm.org/Journal/spip.php?article7064

James L. Lambert
3 Mar 2007

After more than two weeks of public criticism from talk radio, CNN’s Lou Dobbs, and Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly, it appears that Bank of America’s Ken Lewis has chosen to defy public outcry against the bank offering credit cards to illegal immigrants. While the bank has admitted that the public response has been overwhelmingly negative, Lewis has still chosen to ignore the reaction. With more than 186,000 employees worldwide, it appears BOA believes it can weather this storm.

Lou Dobbs labels the bank’s extension of credit to those who have entered U.S. borders illegally as "outrageous." But in a prepared statement, BOA’s Randy Matthew said the bank is "careful to comply with U.S. laws and regulations, including the USA Patriot Act, and use the same criteria to extend credit across our entire customer base."

Continuing, Matthew said "customers who sign up for this particular credit card program must also have an existing deposit account" with the bank ; and that the bank is offering the credit card pilot program to " ... pre-dominantly Hispanic communities in Southern California ..." — even though the other representatives claim that the bank is not marketing their program to illegal immigrants.

According to Ken Lewis, Bank of America’s CEO, 84 percent of the applicants to this program have provided a Social Security number. But no indication was given if the bank suspected any cases of fraud. One would ask, why should a U.S. citizen have any different of a standard for obtaining credit than someone who is in our country illegally ?

Executives from the large financial institution are showing that they would rather ignore the controversy and appease those in the business community who favor open borders. Escondido (California) City Councilwoman Marie Waldron said this week that "Bank of America is willing to sell out our country to make a buck off illegal immigrants ...." She said further that "as a city council member from a California city dealing directly with the impacts of illegal immigration, it is appalling that B of A would work to undermine our efforts by aiding and abetting illegal immigrants to remain in our communities .... This is not about serving their customers ; this is about making money."

For Bank of America, this controversy won’t die down anytime soon. The San Diego chapter of the Minutemen has chosen to selectively picket some Bank of America offices. Clear Channel radio talk-show host Roger Hedgecock, a regular fill-in for conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, dedicated a recent show to disgruntled B of A customers who planned on closing their accounts. Other radio talk-show hosts like Michael Savage, Jerry Doyle, and Rick Roberts have also chimed in on the Bank of America controversy.

San Diego Minutemen founder Jeff Schwilk said the bank’s "giving credit cards to people who are illegally in the United States is one of total outrage .... Americans have already started boycotting Bank of America and [are] closing accounts with them ...." Schwilk concluded by saying that "the American people are fed up with giving benefits to people who have come to this country illegally."

Executives in the business community — and amnesty-supporting politicians such as Senator Ted Kennedy, President Bush, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — need to understand that they can no longer afford to send mixed messages to the American public. Millions of Americans have immigrated here legally and went through the long process of gaining their U.S. citizenship — and it is immoral to turn around and grant special favors to people who have broken our laws, regardless whether it is done to either win their future votes or their future business.

Ignoring established laws of entry into the U.S. sends the wrong message not only to illegals, but to those who obey the rule of law in this country. What exactly is the value of our legal system if we, as a people, turn our back on the very laws that help bring order and stability to our nation ?