Lawmakers debate Mexican ID cards

The Spokane Spokesman Review ^ | February 6, 2004 | Richard Roesler

[eeman]

OLYMPIA _ Tomas Villanueva got up at 3a.m. Thursday, made coffee, pulled on two flannel shirts, and drove his old van from the Yakima Valley to the state Capitol.

He hoped to win over state lawmakers on a matter important to him.

The lawmakers were busy. Villanueva was granted less than two minutes to make his case.

Sitting at a microphone, he asked lawmakers to allow more widespread acceptance of Mexican consular ID cards as legitimate identification.

The change wouldn't affect Mexicans' immigration status or right to work here, he said. But people need an ID, he said, to open a bank account, sign up for electrical or water service, or even get a library card.

"What better national security than knowing who we have living in our state?" the 61-year-old man asked.

He wasn't alone. On Thursday, dozens of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans crowded a House of Representatives hearing room, and urged lawmakers to pass House Bill 3029.

The bill would authorize wider acceptance of the photo ID card, known as a "matricula consular." It authorizes cities, counties, police, banks and check-cashing companies to accept the cards as a valid form of ID, except in cases when a driver's license is specifically required.

The bill also allows the state Department of Licensing to come up with different -- presumably more lenient -- rules for using the cards as a form of ID to get a driver's license or state ID card. Under the current rules, anyone showing a Mexican consular ID has to bring along at least four other forms of ID to get a driver's license.

To get the ID card, a Mexican must go to the nearest Mexican consulate, and provide a birth certificate, government-issued photo ID, and proof of address in Washington. The consulate keeps the digital photograph and signature on file.

Rep. Bill Fromhold, D-Vancouver, sponsored the bill. He's fielded some angry calls and e-mails over it.

"I was called a pimp, a panderer, a bozo and a whore," he said in an interview.

Much of the criticism stems from critics' worries that accepting the cards is a step toward legitimizing illegal aliens. Several lawmakers at Thursday's hearing clearly shared those concerns.

"If you have people that are lawfully in the United States, they require a passport with a picture ID to get into the United States, with a visa," said Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Roy. "Why in the world would we need this kind of identification?"

Nobody had a good answer for that, because nobody wanted to say the obvious: that illegal immigrants often use fake social security cards and other fake documents to get work here. Employers, needing workers, may not run background checks to ensure that the documents are legitimate. But banks or utility companies will, usually using the social security number.

That leaves many Mexicans in limbo, working -- albeit illegally -- in Washington, but unable to open a bank account, get a driver's license, or take part in other everyday transactions.

"One of the things I've always been concerned about is that we have kind of an underground society in this country," said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside.

Fromhold and other proponents -- including the Mexican consul from Seattle -- repeatedly tried to ease lawmakers' fears.

"This is being characterized as something evil, and nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

The change wouldn't help illegal aliens become legal, Fromhold said. Nor would it help them get welfare.

"State and federal law already make undocumented immigrants ineligible for most forms of public assistance, such as welfare and Medicaid," Fromhold said. "This bill does not alter that at all."

A few banks, including Washington Mutual and U.S. Bank, have started accepting the cards as ID for some transactions, such as opening a savings account.

"In some ways, you're enabling an illegal system. That's of course the dilemma," said Greg Cunningham from Catholic Charities in Spokane. "But it does give people a sense of dignity."

"It's better to have people drive safely and obey the laws than to drive without a license," said Carlos Maldonado, a Chicano Studies faculty member at Eastern Washington University. "These people are already here. Do we just close our eyes?"

[MissouriForBush]

Yes, I had already read the proposal, which is why I take the position I do.

IMHO, the "slovenly" people are the ones who support Bush's plan, which is no different from what the Democrats advocate. All are variations on the same old theme of placating and pandering to illegal aliens and their constituencies at the expense of our nation's security.

If you want to see us become a US of Brazil-style by 2020, that's your right, and obviously the right of plenty of unfriendly nations who will benefit.