Consular Identification Cards: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications, the Mexican Case, and Related Legislation
Publication Date: May 2005
Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Author(s):
Research Area: Government
Type:
Coverage: Mexico
Abstract:
The current debate about consular identification cards in the United States has centered around the matrÃcula consular, the consular identification card issued by Mexican consulates to Mexican citizens in the United States. In May 2003, the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing acceptance of the cards as proof of identity for the purpose of opening a bank account, and the cards are accepted for other purposes as well, including issuance of drivers licenses.
Consular identification cards raise issues for domestic policy and foreign policy. With respect to domestic policy, supporters argue that acceptance of the cards is necessary in a post-September 11, 2001 America, where photo identification is required to conduct daily business. They maintain that the card is a secure and fraud-resistant document that improves security and brings people into the open financial community where transactions can be monitored more easily. Opponents argue that the cards are not secure and are needed only by aliens who are illegally present in the United States and serve to undermine U.S. immigration policy.
In the area of foreign policy, supporters maintain that U.S. acceptance of the cards has improved bilateral relations with an important neighboring country. They argue that the cards help U.S. officials to notify consulates of the detention of foreign nationals and improve the likelihood that U.S. citizens will have the benefit of consular notification. Opponents contend that regulation of the cards is necessary to reinforce immigration policy and to defend against terrorism.
On February 10, 2005, the House passed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005 that would, among other things, establish standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses that would seem to preclude the acceptance of consular ID cards, The bill includes provisions that require a determination that the applicant is lawfully present in the United States and that specify that an official passport is the only acceptable foreign identity document. This measure was attached by the House to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for FY2005 (H.R. 1268) as Division B on March 16, 2005. Following conference, H.R. 1268 was passed with the specified provisions by the House and Senate in early May 2005, and it was signed into law (P.L. 109-13) on May 11, 2005.
Last year, in November 2004, Congress passed the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations for FY2005 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005 (H.R. 4818/P.L. 108-447), after restoring funding for Treasury Department implementation of regulations permitting financial institutions to accept consular ID cards as identity documents for banking purposes. In December 2004, Congress also passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (S. 2845/P.L. 108-458), with requirements that the Secretary of Homeland Security propose minimum standards for identification documents to be used by airline passengers and minimal standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses. This report will be updated as legislative developments occur.