Illegal Immigrants Would Be Welcomed in Mass. With an Identity Card Issued by Mexican Government
Beacon Hill Appears Ready to Approve Bogus Cards
              The Mexican government has been issuing over 2 million cards a year to Mexican nationals living in the United States, in many cases to those that they know are here illegally.  The "Matricula Consular" card is a form of identity used by Mexican citizens living abroad, and in the case of illegal aliens in this country perhaps the only identification a Mexican might carry if they have no documentation from the U.S., such as a green card or an entry Visa.
             Immigrant advocacy groups and representatives from state banks testified yesterday on Beacon Hill in favor of permitting financial institutions to accept Matricula Consular cards issued by the Mexican government as a valid ID for foreigners to be able to open bank accounts in the Bay State. 
             A bill (S 2197), sponsored by Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), amends banking laws by adding a “prohibition of the acceptance by a bank of a foreign government issued document other than a passport … as a means of identification of a person.”   It was debated by the Joint Committee on Financial Services during a legislative hearing.   The bill would effectively restrict illegal immigrants from opening up bank accounts in this state. Currently, acceptance of the Matricula Consular is the discretion of the bank.
             The most vocal advocates of accepting the cards has come from the banking industry.  Many illegal aliens, once they are set up with a bank account and are making money in the United States, begin wiring significant amounts of money back to their families in Mexico, or other Central/South American countries.  Jessica Vaughn, an analyst for the Center for Immigration Studies, said the banking organizations rallying for the legislation have their eyes on the bottom lines.  “They want the customer base,” she said after the hearing. “They’ve identified this as a growth area.”   It is estimated that up to $18 billion is wired from the United States to Mexico alone every year.  Local banks want to get their slice of that pie. 
             Since the Mexican government offers no control over the issuance of the cards, they remain a huge gap in the national security of the United States.  It is possible for a terrorist to slip over the border, get a Matricula Consular from the Mexican government, and begin laundering money for terrorist activities.  Moreover, once an alien has a valid bank account, they can use that for other forms of identification.   
             Ilana Freedman, CEO of the Tyngsboro-based Gerard Group, a counter-terrorism consulting firm said that banning the use of the Matricula Consular cards for banking could “close a loophole that the terrorist organizations are rushing to fill, or to take advantage of.”