Thread: Myth and Facts behind the Mexican ID Cards

http://www.house.gov/garymiller/Matricu ... Facts.html

Matricula Consular Cards: Myth and Facts behind the Mexican ID Cards



September 16, 2004- Matricular Consular cards are identification cards issued by the Mexican government to mainly illegal immigrants living in the United States. Currently, more than 350 financial institutions accept Matricula Consular cards as proof of identification thereby allowing thousands of illegal immigrants to have access to mainstream U.S. financial services.



Regulation in the federal budget prohibited U.S. businesses from accepting these cards, but an amendment passed September 14, 2004, which Congressman Miller opposed, that pulls this requirement.



MYTH: Matricula Consular cards are official identification issued by the Mexican government to its citizens and are a proper and reliable form of identification for Mexican workers in the United States.



FACT: The Justice Department and FBI have concluded that the Matricula Consular is not a reliable form of identification due to the non-existence of any means of verifying the true identity of the cardholder.



The documents used to obtain the Matricula Consular card have been found to be easily counterfeited.



Even worse, Matricula Consular cards have been issued upon as little as the word of the person requesting one that they are indeed who they claim to be.



The Mexican government has no centralized database to coordinate the issuance of Matricula Consular ID cards. As a result, one person can procure several cards, even under different names.



MYTH: Eliminating the use of Matricula Consular ID cards would deny many Mexican nationals access to mainstream financial services, such as bank accounts, credit cards, and loans.



FACT: According to the FBI, Matricula Consular cards are almost exclusively used by illegal aliens. Anyone here legally has valid identity documents they can present to open a bank account, such as driver's licenses, Social Security numbers, or passports.



MYTH: The Matricula Consular ID card has a dozen security features to ensure authenticity and discourage fraud, including a digitalized photo, serial number, hologram with special marks, and infrared brand.



FACT: There have been several generations of the card and even the newest version can be easily replicated, despite its security features. More than 90 percent of the Matricula Consular cards now in circulation are earlier versions of the card, which are little more than simple laminated cards without any security features.



The Matricula Consular is easily and often forged -- there is a thriving black market in fake Matricula Consular. In fact, foreign citizens, including an Iranian national, have been apprehended in possession of numerous Matricula Consular cards (issued in Mexico) with multiple identities.



MYTH: The language in the bill defeats the anti-money laundering intent of Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, and undermines financial institutions' abilities to detect and prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.



FACT: An FBI witness testified that the ability to assume a new identity with a Matricula Consular aids criminals in a variety of crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and, additionally, "the false identity serves to conceal a criminal who is already being sought by law enforcement. Individuals have been arrested with multiple Matricula Consular cards in their possession, each with the same photograph, but with a different name."



The 9/11 Commission recommended that efforts to disrupt terrorist financing remain front and center in U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Key to this is ensuring that the identifications used at banks are secure. Please oppose amendments that would strip language to ensure banks are not able to accept the non-secure Matricula Consular.



MYTH: Every law enforcement and intelligence expert will tell you that it is far easier to track illicit finances when they are moving in our financial system, rather than underground.



FACT: Yes, it is important for financial institutions to know their customers and track and report illicit finances. Yet, if financial institutions do not know the true identity of their customers and they are not required to retain this information by photocopying their identification documents, then they cannot do their part in discouraging money laundering.



Such false identities are particularly useful to facilitate the crime of money laundering, as the criminal is able to establish one or more bank accounts under completely fictitious names. The FBI is particularly concerned about fraudulent financial transactions in the post 9/11 environment, given the fact that foreign terrorists often rely on money transferred from within the United States.



MYTH: The language in the bill would prohibit the Department of Treasury from imposing any identification standards on financial institutions.



FACT: The current language in the bill would strengthen identification standards imposed by the PATRIOT Act and the Department of Treasury by disallowing the use of the Matricula Consular. It would not completely eliminate the authority of the Treasury Department to enforce the PATRIOT Act .

These ID cards should not be accepted in the U.S.