http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/art ... 99991.html

Today is Sunday, May 14, 2006
Originally published Sunday, May 14, 2006
Updated Saturday, May 13, 2006
THE MAGIC CARD
Mexico's maricula consular opens numerous doors for immigrants. But critics say the document is misused.
By Karl-Erik Stromsta
DAILY BREEZE

Each weekend Pablo, a stolid, second-generation Mexican immigrant, stands near the colorful southeastern corner of Los Angeles' MacArthur Park whispering "IDs" at pedestrians as they saunter past.

But his brazenness is mostly unnecessary, since for the most part he doesn't need to worry about soliciting business. His customers come to him seeking fake IDs.

His hottest seller is fraudulent copies of the matricula consular, a simple picture ID issued by Mexican embassies to citizens outside Mexico.

"Everything else comes and goes, in terms of selling it," said Pablo, 29. "But the matricula card, that one is a lock. You know that every weekend you'll have people looking to buy that one."

As it becomes mired in debate and demagogy, two things remain certain about the matriculaconsular. It has become increasingly popular in recent years -- and increasingly controversial.

The card grants undocumented immigrants de facto economic amnesty in the United States, allowing them to open savings accounts, take out loans, buy cell phones, board airplanes and qualify for government-subsidized housing.

More than a dozen states accept them as a valid form of ID when obtaining a driver's license, although not California.

Mexico began issuing matricula cards in 1870 to make it easier for Mexicans living abroad to get consular assistance and return home, and for more than 130 years it remained obscure and uncontroversial.

But since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- and the revelation that 14 of the 15 terrorists possessed valid, U.S.-accepted IDs -- the card has been attacked by anti-immigration activists and skittish politicians.

The reason for the card's popularity among undocumented immigrants is obvious: It offers them access to a rainbow of products and services within this country. Predictably, as it has gained wider acceptance, the swell of applications for the card has been colossal.

In 2005 more than 360,000 were issued in California, and nationwide nearly 5 million. Moreover, these figures don't account for people like Pablo, who sell an untold number of phony copies, often for less than the real thing.

Financial impetus


Many companies across the South Bay and even the country have been only too happy to reach out to the rapidly expanding -- and mostly untapped -- base of matricula-holding immigrants in this country, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

"Undocumented immigrants are a critical component of the region's economy," Kyser said. "They get well-deserved credit for their contributions on the producing end, but they are also tremendously important as consumers.

"They have traditionally had very different buying habits, but that doesn't mean they don't spend money. They're probably not going down to the South Bay Galleria to shop. They're naturally going to support Latino-owned businesses where they feel more comfortable," he said.

"With the matricula card, it allows many other businesses to significantly broaden their customer base," he said. "And it's great for the immigrants themselves. It enables them to live more in the sunshine, so to speak, rather than being forced to stay in the shade."

The trend began in 2001, when the Mexican government began lobbying financial institutions to increase services to undocumented immigrants. Remittances of more than $16 billion are wired from the United States to Mexico each year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Before banks such as Wells Fargo -- and more than 350 other financial institutions -- began accepting the matricula card, many undocumented immigrants were forced to cash their checks at corner stores and stockpile the money at home, said Dolores Arredondo, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, which has multiple branches throughout the South Bay.

"There was a huge group of people in this country forced to stuff their money in their mattresses," Arredondo said. "They were subject to violent crime, simply because they couldn't bank."

Since Wells Fargo became the first U.S. financial institution to accept the matricula consular, it has opened more than 750,000 bank accounts using the card.

While banks may have started the trend, there has been a rippling effect outside of the financial world. Insurance companies also have scrambled onto the bandwagon, and started issuing policies based on matricula cards, said Robert Alaniz, vice president of WellPoint, the parent company of California Blue Cross.

"When we saw the hundreds of thousands of accounts being opened at Wells Fargo, we saw it as an opportunity," Alaniz said. "Accepting the matricula card is lucrative to us, and of benefit to the general public.

"These are folks that are obviously here in this country, most of them are working, and many of them are able to afford some sort of health insurance," he said. "If they are able to buy insurance with this card, they don't have to rely on emergency room services. They can get into a preventive health mode."

The matricula also lets its holder take to the American skies. Although not valid for international flights, many airlines, like Southwest, have started accepting the card when admitting passengers for flights within the U.S.


Police agencies, too, have noticed. In the past few years, more than 1,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies have begun honoring the card, particularly in southwestern states.

Sgt. Paul Wolcott said the Hermosa Beach Police Department doesn't yet have an official policy on the card, although they are becoming more common around the South Bay.

"They're a starting point. We view them as a form of information, but not a valid ID," he said.

But because many nearby agencies such as Santa Ana do accept the card, they are forced to deal with its effects.

"We've had incidents where we've run somebody by the name given on their matricula card, and then when a warrant pops up they'll say, 'No, no, that's not my real name. That card is a fake.' "

Security concerns

For advocates of looser immigration laws, the matricula cards have been heralded as a bellwether -- a sign of widening acceptance of undocumented immigrants and their rights. But even as some businesses and police agencies embrace the card, its critics have grown ever more vocal.

"The security and background checks for these cards are so lax that terrorists could easily obtain them, which would allow them to open bank accounts and receive money for future attacks," said Raymond Kreisel, a spokesman for the Federal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Coalition, a group supporting more stringent immigration laws.

Critics argue that the documents needed to obtain a matricula consular -- in many cases just a Mexican birth certificate and voter card -- are as easy to forge as the cards themselves.

Although they recently were updated to include better security features, most of the cards in circulation are the older version, which is little more than a laminated piece of paper, according to the FBI.

"Every day, customs enforcement arrests, detains and enters into proceedings against individuals possessing these cards," said Virginia Kice, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "They are not recognized as valid identification documents by the United States."

On several well-publicized occasions, law enforcement agencies have arrested individuals possessing multiple copies of the card, including an Iranian national. The matricula card's widening acceptance among law enforcement agencies does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of rank-and-file officers, said Mike McGarry of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform.


"I have spoken with many individual police officers and deputies who have said most of their fellows in the field do not agree with their associations' formal positions on the matricula card," he said. "But they cannot go public with their objections, or they will find themselves walking the midnight beats in Palookaville."

Even the FBI has officially concluded that it is an unreliable means of identification, and is used almost exclusively by illegal immigrants.

"Clearly, there is a threat to vulnerability," said Steve McGraw, assistant director of the FBI's Office of Intelligence, testifying before Congress in 2003.

"The ability of foreign nationals to use the matricula consular to create a well-documented, but fictitious, identity in the United States provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely within the United States without triggering name-based watch lists that are disseminated to local police officers," he said.

A continuing debate

With immigration law at the forefront of national politics, many observers feel that the matricula consular is headed for a Capitol Hill showdown. The Bush administration has expressed support for the card, arguing that forcing consumers into the nefarious world of underground finance is more dangerous than allowing them access to banks, where their financial records can be more easily tracked. Yet many other politicians have come out against the card.

As for Pablo, the self-proclaimed "card shark" plans to continue selling the IDs near MacArthur Park until there is a crackdown -- or they become obviated by looser immigration restrictions.

"If people could just become American citizens, they wouldn't need these to prove they're Mexican anymore," he said.

Then, turning away, he whispered "IDs" to a group of middle-aged women shuffling off a bus.

Karl-Erik Stromsta is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.