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  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
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    Mexicans line up for ID cards, passports

    http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=68435

    Mexicans line up for ID cards, passports
    By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
    Daily Herald Staff Writer
    Posted Wednesday, June 29, 2005

    A row of Mexican consulate workers sat below whirring fans Wednesday at a Carpentersville church, tapping on laptop keyboards as 200 people, wiping away beads of sweat, inched closer in a slow line.

    It was 12:30 p.m., and Margarita Espinoza had been waiting almost five hours at Iglesia San Esteban Martir to get her Mexican passport.

    “I want it so I can go to Mexico and come back,� said Espinoza, 40, who works at a hotel and has lived in Carpentersville for 14 years.

    Antonio Garrido, 29, also was waiting for a passport, but not for travel. Garrido, who works at a factory and a restaurant and has lived in Carpentersville for six years, needs it to become a permanent U.S. resident.

    And so they waited as representatives from the Consulate General of Mexico snapped photos, took fingerprints and reviewed the documents of the Mexican citizens lined up to get passports and Mexican identification cards called matriculas consular. Matriculas consular must be renewed every five years.


    (Christopher Hankins/Daily Herald) Sisters Celia Maria, left, and Maria Josefina Machado, both of Carpentersville, wait for their paperwork to be completed before receiving their matriculas consular identification cards Wednesday at Iglesia San Esteban Martir in Carpentersville.


    Consulates throughout the country periodically dispatch mobile units to help people who might have a hard time getting to the big city offices, but Chicago’s consulate has a team designated specifically to do so.

    Last week, the 14-member team was in Aurora; next week it heads to Madison, Wis. The unit goes to Carpentersville every year.

    Police Chief Robert Lowen waded through the crowd Wednesday, impressed with the turnout.

    “There’s obviously a great need,� he said.

    And not just for the people who want the IDs to open bank accounts and the passports to travel back to Mexico.

    “Our guys on the street often have trouble truly identifying these people,� Lowen said.

    Bank of America sponsored the four-day event in Carpentersville, its debut partnership with the consulate.

    At a table set up outside the church, bank representatives took information from people who wished to open bank accounts and pitched the SafeSend program, which allows people to transfer up to $3,000 a month to a Mexican account.

    Banker Angel Rogerio said banking leads people to mortgages, which helps bring Mexicans into the mainstream.

    “More Mexican homeowners create more stable neighborhoods,� he said.

    That’s why banks accept the matriculas consular, even though the IDs have come under fire from many groups who say it rewards undocumented immigrants and threatens security.

    Efforts to change those perceptions by increasing safety features on the cards have slowed the issuing process, prompting the consulate to limit the number of matriculas issued to 300 per day.

    “The process is slow because the system in slow,� said Selene Barcelo of the consulate.

    Since 2002, consulate workers have entered applicants’ information into computerized databases so they can cross-check it with Mexican voter and court records. It also added invisible holograms much like the toughest state driver’s licenses.

    This February, the consulate also started entering fingerprints into the database. Eventually, the fingerprints will be added to the back of the identification card.

    “There’s a misunderstanding that the matricula gives immigration status or rights,� Barcelo said. “These people are just trying to make a better living for their families.�
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  2. #2
    Senior Member LegalUSCitizen's Avatar
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    Boo-hoo-hoo sniffle, sniffle
    This is a sad story.

    (Forget the citizens of America, they only fight the wars and die for this freedom)

    Boo-hoo-hoo those poor people waiting for matricula consular cards sinffle sniffle

    (forget that over 3,000 Americans died at The World Trade Center at the hands of terrorists who were misusing ID's)

    Just let them in. Give them what they want. Americans learn Spanish.
    You matter not anymore!!!! Just keep sending your sons to the wars, and keep quiet.

    WAIT A MINUTE!!HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

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