Some 2. As of July the Mexican Foreign Ministry said it had issued 2. An August report by the U. Respondents were asked to mark all of the uses they contemplated. The responses differed significantly according to the amount of time the respondents had been in the United States. However, a permanent legal immigrant who has established a domicile in the United States and has been in the country for an extended period of time has access to other forms of identification that are more widely accepted here.
Under normal circumstances, such an individual should be in possession of a valid Mexican passport as well as a U. Non-immigrants, including tourists, students and temporary workers who are legally authorized to be in the United States for various lengths of time, normally must hold a valid Mexican passport with a U. They maintain that individuals who are able to deposit their money in banks do not have to carry around large amounts of cash or keep large sums in their homes and, thus, are less likely to become crime victims.
They argue that despite its fraud-resistant features, the card is not secure because the underlying documentation used to obtain it is not properly authenticated.
They express particular concern about the Mexican birth certificate, which, they say, is easily forged. They also argue that there are inadequate mechanisms to prevent the issuance of multiple cards to the same person. They cite cases in which a single individual has been found with multiple cards, each containing the individual's photograph but a different name. They maintain that in cases of minor infractions, police departments that recognize the card are not conducting background checks or taking fingerprints of card holders.
Given this practice, opponents argue, the card helps conceal past criminal activity. They argue that cards issued to individuals under false names can be, and have been, used to obtain driver's licenses and other documents in those names to create multiple identities. According to opponents, individuals can use these false identities to facilitate criminal acts, such as money laundering and alien smuggling, and to avoid detection by authorities.
They maintain that individuals who are isolated and marginalized pose a greater potential security threat than those who are known. They emphasize that Mexico is not a terrorist-supporting country and that Mexicans come to the United States to work, not to commit terrorist acts.
Opponents argue that domestic acceptance of the card threatens homeland security. According to June congressional testimony by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI , "the ability of foreign nationals to use the Matricula Consular to create a well-documented, but fictitious, identity in the United States provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely in the United States without triggering name-based watch lists.
During the Mexican presidential campaign, the major candidates discovered that the status of Mexican migrants in the United States was one of the top concerns among the Mexican people. A large portion of the population has a relative in the United States, and there is widespread concern about the plight of migrants who die enroute, or are exploited in some way in the United States.
As a result, when President Fox of the conservative National Action Party PAN was elected in July and inaugurated in December , he began pressing proposals with the United States for legalizing undocumented Mexican workers in the United States through amnesty or guest worker arrangements, while offering improved relations in other areas, including trade, drug control, and foreign policy cooperation.
At two major presidential meetings in , the two Presidents launched cabinet-level negotiations to address migration and labor issues between the countries. However, following the September terrorist attacks, the migration talks stalled and no legislation was enacted, despite several legislative initiatives and an immigration proposal by President Bush in January During the presidential campaign, both major candidates called for immigration reform, and since President Bush's re-election in November and his re-inauguration in January , he has asserted that immigration reform will be a priority in his second term.
He called again for immigration reform that would provide temporary legal status for foreign guest workers in his State of the Union address on February 2, Given the lack of progress so far on the bilateral migration talks, some observers have argued that the Mexican government's campaign to issue consular identification cards was a way to provide limited benefits to the migrant population in the United States, giving them access to banking services, permitting them to transfer money to Mexico at cheaper rates through established institutions, and permitting them to have more normal access to regular activities in the United States.
They cite improved bilateral cooperation in many areas, most notably in enhanced Mexican efforts to control drug trafficking activities, to cooperate on border control plans, and to deploy soldiers to secure access points to the United States during the war in Iraq, although Mexico favored a more multilateral approach to that problem. These supporters argue that restricting the issuance and acceptance of the identity cards might have an adverse effect on the bilateral relationship between the countries, and Mexican officials did criticize the passage of the REAL ID Act of as part of the FY Emergency Supplemental in May They argue that Mexican officials have been inappropriately involved in the domestic affairs of the United States when they have promoted acceptance of the cards.
As indicated above, it is traditional practice for consulates abroad, including U. This practice is recognized and protected under international law through the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of , which provides that states will accord this right to each other on a reciprocal basis.
In her June testimony, State Department official Jacobson mentioned another benefit of consular identification cards, namely that they facilitate the notification by U. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that foreign nationals who are arrested or detained have a right to protection and assistance from their own consulates.
It establishes that the detaining state is required to inform the detainee of his or her right to request that the relevant consular officials be notified of the detention without delay. Consular notification is relatively easy when the detainee is carrying a card that identifies him as a national of another state, but it is difficult, and not always achieved, when the detainee lacks any documentation, and his identity, relatives, and nationality are unknown and often withheld out of fear.
According to Ms. Jacobson, consular notification is a very serious issue for the Department of State, and it is "working assiduously to ensure U. Consular notification is a major issue for the Mexican government. For years, Mexican officials have been complaining about Mexican citizens who they claim were executed for crimes or who are awaiting execution in the United States without the benefit of consular assistance and adequate defense because the consulates were never notified.
In mid-August , President Fox was reported to have cancelled his August trip to Texas and his meeting with President Bush in Crawford to protest the execution by Texas authorities of convicted police killer Javier Suarez Medina despite Mexican claims that he had not been afforded consular assistance.
After several preliminary decisions, on March 31, , the International Court found that the United States had breached its obligations under the Vienna Convention by failing to notify and enable Mexican consular officials to assist 51 Mexican suspects who are now on death row, and it ordered the United States to review the convictions and sentences of the Mexican nationals. On March 28, , the U. Supreme Court heard argument in the case of a Mexican inmate on Texas' death row who claims that the state violated international law by failing to notify Mexican consular officials before his trial for murder.
On May 23, , the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal to permit the lower courts to resolve the issue under President Bush's directive. In the case of Mexico, achieving a better record on consular notification would remove a major irritant in the bilateral relationship.
Opponents of consular identification cards would argue that there should be other means and other indications of identity that would permit law enforcement officials to adhere to the consular notification obligations, without establishing a system, which, in their view, provides non-legislated immigration benefits.
Legislation related to consular identification cards was considered by the th Congress. Hopefully, other organizations will begin to do the same," Mendoza Yescas said. In , the Arizona Legislature banned the use of consular registration cards as a valid form of identification.
The bill that Ducey signed on March 5 reverses the law. Any person of Mexican nationality by birth or naturalization can obtain a consular registration card, as long as the requirements are met. Mexican nationality must be proven by presenting the original of one of the following documents:. People will have to prove their identity by presenting the original of one of the following official documents with a photo, which must match the document they are using to prove their nationality.
In addition, the applicant must present an original proof of address in their name. This proof must indicate all the information of the address where they live, i. Renew a Green Card I Replace a Green Card I Remove Conditions on Green Card I Get a Reentry Permit I Green Card Center. Adjustment of Status. Green Card through Adjustment of Status.
Adjustment of Status Application I Affidavit of Support I Employment Authorization I Advance Parole Application I
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