A hearty Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over.
Posted on 06/27/2005 7:19:39 PM PDT by LNewman
ESCONDIDO ---- The presence of the Mexican Consulate at a recent public event has a City Council member and a school board president fuming that the city is promoting illegal immigration, and they are demanding to know who invited the agency.
Councilwoman Marie Waldron has called on Escondido officials to determine who invited the consulate to the city's Civic Faire, a community event held at Grant Middle School on May 21 to highlight available city and social services to the mostly Latino community along East Mission Avenue.
A mobile consulate unit set up at the fair allowed Mexican nationals to apply for an identification card known as a matricula consular. Many banks and other businesses accept the cards in lieu of a California driver's license or other identification.
Waldron's request came after Escondido Union School District President Joan Gardner addressed the entire council with her concerns last week.
Waldron said Monday that the city should cut off funding the annual event if organizers are going to allow the consulate to participate.
"Here the taxpayers of the city of Escondido are funding a foreign entity on public property," Waldron said. "I don't want to fund this again if it's going to become an avenue to assist illegal immigration."
The city spends about $3,300 on the event, now in its fourth year. Most of the money comes out of federal community grant funds and about $650 from the general fund. Neighborhood services officials could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Federal legislators in 2003 approved the use of the cards for identification purposes. That has led to their legal acceptance in opening bank accounts and for other purposes.
The Mexican ID cards stirred emotions in another North County city recently.
Earlier this month, about 45 anti-illegal immigration activists staged a protest against two Fallbrook banks and a money-wiring service that they said accept the identification cards from clients.
Waldron said she is in "total disagreement" with the banks and other businesses that accept the cards.
"Those cards, a lot of the time, are based on fraudulent information," she said. "You can't rely on the person who has the card being who they say they are."
A spokesman for the Mexican consulate could not be reached for comment on Monday.
However, according to the consulate's Web site, applicants for the cards must present proof of Mexican citizenship, and some form of identification with a current photo and a local address, in addition to paying a $27 fee.
Alberto Lozano, a consular spokesman, said at the event that the consulate had widely advertised its appearance in advance of the civic fair, which was held on a Saturday and attended by some 2,000 visitors. Hundreds of people lined up to apply for the cards that day, and many said they could not miss work or did not have transportation to make it to the consulate's San Diego offices, Lozano said.
But Gardner called the consulate's presence on the campus unacceptable.
"I think it's inappropriate for the school district to tacitly endorse lawbreaking by allowing (the consulate) to have a presence on our campus," Gardner said Monday. "We should not provide a service to lawbreakers."
State law prohibits school districts from requiring proof of residency or citizenship before admitting students, and Gardner said she respects that law.
Before bringing the matter to the City Council, Gardner tried to take up the matter with her colleagues during a June 9 school board meeting.
But none of the four trustees were willing to back Gardner's call to have the district look into why the consulate was allowed to operate on the campus, according to district officials.
Royce Moore, the school board's vice president, said he didn't believe investigating the matter fit into the academic goals it has set for the district.
"Had the school district been involved in terms of organizing the event, there may be some concern there," Moore said. "But the school district did not organize this event."
One person who helped organize the Civic Faire, however, said the consulate's presence served a need in the community.
"As far as I'm concerned, there is no illegal service being provided," said Patty Huerta, executive director of the Escondido Education Compact, which helped organize the event.
Huerta added that she did not know who invited the consulate.
Still, she said she would like to see Waldron's and Gardner's concerns lead to a community dialogue on the matter, rather than pulling funding for the event.
"(The fair) has been very successful at blending all sorts of resources," Huerta said. "It would be sad for that community if it were to go away or the city or school district didn't continue to support it."
Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.
Someone needs to step up and firmly plant five right on Mexico's jaw and at least rock them back on their heels. This is ridiculous and it's going on all over the country.
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Granted, it would be a LOT more satisfying to "plant five."
Let me give Marie Waldron a "you go girl".
A hearty Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over.
Move along and don't forget to buy a refrigerator. Integration with Mexico going smoothly.....
BTTT...
Party Crashers, that's all.
Is that how they spell fair in mexico?
This foreign invasion by Mexico is spiraling out of control. If Americans dont wake up soon and put a screaching halt to it, our kids and grandkids will pay a price and can never be recovered. I have had it with GW Bush and his refusal to stop this outright invasion. (I voted for him twice).
Yes it is. I have first hand knowledge, but can not reveal that information at this time. Sorry.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
Yes, and it's your tax dollars on both the spending and the giving.
Makes ya feel warm and fuzzy all over, doesn't it.
Oh, my bad, that's the heat of RAGE!
It seems everyone Rick Roberts attempted to contact was "in a meeting."
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
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