Thread: Events aim to service illegal immigrant population

http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2006/092 ... e/006.html

Events aim to service immigrant population
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer



LAKEWOOD - For Mexican nationals who live in Lakewood, two important events will occur in the coming weeks.

The first event will see representatives from the Mexican Consulate come to Lakewood to register Mexican nationals for a matricula consular, which is an official identification document issued by the Mexican government.

Some banks and other businesses and institutions accept the matricula consular as a form of identification that permits people who might not otherwise be able to obtain certain services to receive them.

The card can be obtained from the representatives of the Mexican government by Mexican nationals who are in the United States legally and illegally.

The second event is a seminar to be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 at the municipal building which will focus on the recently completed muster zone on Swath-more Avenue in the Lakewood Indus-trial Park.

On the first topic, Mayor Meir Lichtenstein said representatives of the Mexican government approached him regarding the issuance of the matricula consular.

"They approached us and asked us if they could meet with us," the mayor said. "There are services they can offer and they would like to offer a session."

Lichtenstein said the representatives of the consulate asked for two Saturdays to come to the township.

The card carries no mention of the bearer's legal or illegal status in the United States, but identifies the person as a Mexican national. Those who apply for the card must provide official documentation from Mexico, such as a birth certificate, to obtain one.

The issuance of the matricula consular has been the subject of much debate, with the U.S. House of Representatives voting the document null and void in July 2004. That decision was later rescinded.

In October 2004, 500 Mexican immigrants lined up at the First United Methodist Church, Freehold Borough, to sign up for the card. Since there is a limit to the number of cards that can be issued in a day, more than 200 of those applicants were placed on a list for future consideration.

As for the muster zone, Carlos Cedeno and the law offices of Samuel Z. Brown will lead the discussion at tonight's seminar.

The 2-acre muster zone, or employment services center as it has been referred to, has been under construction for five months as township officials have searched for an entity to run the facility.

Upon opening, the muster zone is expected to enable the community's day laborers to congregate and solicit employment in a single location, instead of in the downtown area, as they seek work with employers on a daily basis.

The presence of the day laborers in the downtown area has been a source of concern for merchants and public officials over the past few years.

Merchants indicated that the presence of large groups of men on the street in front of their businesses was intimidating to some customers.

Lakewood officials expressed concern about the day laborers running into the street to negotiate with potential employers as those employers drive through town looking for employees.

The cost to construct the muster zone is expected to be about $37,500 and will be funded by Urban Enterprise Zone grants.

The Township Committee approved the project at its April 6 meeting.

[quote]The first event will see representatives from the Mexican Consulate come to Lakewood to register Mexican nationals for a matricula consular, which is an official identification document issued by the Mexican government. [/quote
And ICE will be nowhere to be seen. Almost every single one of the people that show up for their Mexican ID is illgal and ICE, the people that get paid to enforce or immigration policy, will be busy doing something else that day. Maybe filling out reports for any contacts they made with Congressmen like the Border Patrol has to.