Since the Immigration Reform Bill failed in the Senate, this is the way for the Mexican Government to legalize the illegal aliens in our country. They have 49 consulate office in the US and still travel around giving our documents to their citizens. If these people were in our country legally, they would already have passports or legal documents to be here, etc.

http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Sate ... 0885&path=

Mexicans get documents

By LILLIAN KAFKA
lkafka@potomacnews.com
Sunday, July 1, 2007

Mexican consul Lydia Nieto gives Felipe Martin his passport at Northern Virginia Community College Manassas campus Saturday.

Men, women and children; mothers, fathers and married couples - all Mexican citizens - received official Mexican documents Saturday at the first Mexican Embassy-sponsored event in Manassas in five years.

About 700 Mexican citizens received passports and consulate ID cards Saturday at the Manassas campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

Manassas is back on the embassy's map, according to Consul Enrique Escorza, who said the growing number of Mexican citizens in the area

justified their hosting a day where Mexicans could access embassy resources which are normally available in the District.

In the wake of the U.S. Senate's rejection of a bill that would have provided the country a guest worker program and amnesty for millions of undocumented immigrants, now is as important a time as ever for aliens to carry official identification, said Escorza.

Esther Ambriz, who lives in Dumfries, said she was applying for a passport to travel from Virginia to Michoacan, Mexico, where she is from.

"If something happened out there, it a lot harder to travel at the last minute [without a passport]," she said.

"A lot of these people don't have any ID. They have a long time here in the U.S. and they travel. A lot of people need a passport to open an account at the bank," Ambriz said.

And opening a bank account is crucial for Hispanic workers, who could be targeted if they carry large amounts of cash, Escorza said.

"Instead of me having all the cash that I made this month in my pockets," he said, having an ID card helps to open a bank account.

One man from Leesburg, who declined to give his name, said he was applying for a passport so he could open a bank account.

The man, from Jalisco, Mexico, waited in line Saturday with his wife and children.

Escorza said that only Mexican citizens without criminal records can obtain a passport or identification card.

"To the community this is of great value. These people have the means to prove who they are," Escorza said. "The community can have peace of mind that this confirms they do not have criminal backgrounds."

He said in order to receive a Mexican passport or a consulate ID card, a Mexican citizen must submit a birth certificate, at least one form of ID, and proof of their address in the U.S.

Once those documents are accepted, applicants must also submit biometric data:

fingerprints, photos and electronic signatures.

Data submitted in the applications is compared to an international database on criminals and suspected terrorists, Escorza said.

If their name is already flagged for having a criminal background in Mexico or because the person is a suspected terrorist, that person would not receive documents from the consulate, he said.

Once a person was confirmed for a passport or a consulate ID card, the documents were created on the spot at NVCC.

Escorza said the documents, especially the consulate ID card, are nearly impossible to counterfeit.

With 17 security features, including coded photographs and holograms, authorities can easily check for counterfeits using a plastic pocket decoder issued by the Mexican government.

"In a way it looks simple, but it's a very sophisticated card," Escorza said.

On the back of the card is a bi-dimensional bar code that includes the biometric data.

He said that because so many people responded to the Manassas event on Saturday, the Mexican Embassy would likely hold another passport and consulate ID event there next year.

"To feel the support of the community college is of tremendous value," Escorza said. "They are kind enough to allow us to use the room and the Internet access. I have no words but gratitude to them."

The consulate will offer another opportunity to obtain Mexican passports and consulate IDs in Richmond on July 14 and 15 at Ramsey Memorial United Methodist Church.