"Mexican residents gain ID benefits"

There's so much wrong with this May 1 article from Oregon that I don't know where to start:

For the first time in Ashland - and with no questions about immigration status - Mexican-born residents of the valley flocked to get a highly valued card called the matricula consular, a secure ID card that enables them to open bank accounts, get a driver's license and start on the road to work and legal residency.

Wow. The FBI says the cards aren't secure. Who are you going to believe, them or some smalltown newspaperman who seems to have believed everything he was told by the guy who was handing out IDs for illegals? Plus, these cards do nothing to help people gain legal residency. They only make it look like they're here somewhat legally.

The optically scanned, photo ID cards were given to 200 locals by the Mexican consulate from Portland, whose officials travel to the main towns of Oregon once a year for that purpose...

... Claudia Guzman of Medford, speaking through an interpreter from RCC, said her three trips to the DMV resulted in widely varying requests for documents, with the matricula finally being named as the vital, missing piece of ID.

"It's very important," said Guzman. "You can't get a license without it. And I've found out that it will definitely be accepted at Wells Fargo to open an account."

... Oregon, she added, is in a small minority of states that don't require a Social Security card to get a driver's license. California, Arizona and many other states have set up that hoop, Copeland noted, thus producing a ripple effect of Mexican immigrants to Oregon...

... Consulate official Martin Alcalia from Portland, who was issuing the cards, said determination of one's legal status in the United States is solely the job of the INS and that "it's not a matter for us. We just care if they are Mexicans."

See also "Their money or your safety" for other examples of Mexican consuls doing an end around of our immigration laws.

Immigration_consul · Fri, 05/20/2005 - 14:01 · · Importance: 1