Thread: Arizona law denies recognition to Mexican consular ID cards

Arizona law denies recognition to Mexican consular identification cards

July 21, 2011 at 12:26 PM by AHN
Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent

Phoenix, Arizona, United States (AHN) – An Arizona law that took effect this week to further restrict illegal immigration is receiving harsh criticism in Mexico. The state law denies recognition of Mexican consulate documents as a way of proving the persons carrying them are legally in the United States.

The documents, called consular identification cards, are issued by the Mexican government to citizens who register with their embassy. The documents list their names, addresses, nationality, birth dates and have photos of the owners imprinted on them.

Until the law took effect Wednesday, Mexican citizens could show the consular identification cards to Arizona police to avoid deportation as illegal immigrants.

The new law, called SB 1465, allows deportation proceedings despite possession of the cards unless the persons stopped by police offer further proof of legal residency.

More than four million Mexicans in the United States carry the cards, according to the Mexican Embassy. They are recognized as valid identification by 265 countries, embassy officials said.

Republican Arizona Sen. Ron Gould, who sponsored SB 1465, said the consular identification card “is not a secure method of identification.â€

The financial institutions in Mexico don't take this card, but we are supposed to.

Good! The ONLY acceptable ID for foreign nationals in the US is a passport and/or green card along with passport! "Consular" cards are a joke and discriminate against non-latin American foreign nationals.