Summary of Culberson Matricula Consular Language
During Transportation Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee markup, Congressman Culberson offered an amendment that passed with a party line vote. During Full Committee markup, Congressman Ed Pastor offered an amendment that would strip this language from the bill. The Pastor Amendment failed by one vote. Then during floor consideration of the bill, Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley offered an amendment that would strip Congressman Culberson's language from the FY2005 House Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill. Congressman Culberson’s amendment prohibited the Treasury Department from using any funds to “publish, implement, administer, or enforce regulations that permit financial institutions to accept the matricula consular identification card” issued by Mexican Consulates as a valid form of identification in opening bank accounts or conducting financial transactions.
Congressman Culberson has grown increasingly concerned that our porous borders have allowed “special interest aliens” to enter the country and establish themselves in the United States. Special interest aliens are aliens from Islamic and Middle Eastern countries who are considered a terrorist threat, take advantage of the porous borders, change their surnames, and enter the country illegally. C. Stewart Verdery of the Department of Homeland Security stated at an Immigration, Border Security, and Claims Subcommittee hearing last year prior to the issuance of the regulation “that individuals have been able to obtain multiple [matricula consular] cards under multiple names, an occurrence which poses a significant security issue and impacts their reliability as valid forms of identification.” Congressman Culberson has been told of cases where detained special interest aliens have been in possession of up to 10 matricula consular cards. This raises a concern about the reliability of this particular foreign identification document.
It is impossible to verify the true identity of a person who holds a matricula consular card. Other forms of identification, such as passports, can be checked on databases to ensure they are accurate and valid. The Mexican government does not keep a database of people issued the matricula consular card. Therefore, it is impossible for financial institutions or the federal government to reasonably assess the identity of a card holder when a proper background check can not be conducted. During the same Immigration, Border Security, and Claims Subcommittee hearing mentioned above, Steve McCraw of the Office of Intelligence in the FBI stated that “the Department of Justice and the FBI have concluded that the Matricula Consular is not a reliable form of identification, due to the non-existence of any means of verifying the true identity of the card holder.” Additionally, because of the unreliability of this form of identification, Under Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson said in a January 6 interview with News Hour on PBS that “we have very little confidence in the security of the matricula consular card.”
The Congressman supports the continued effort of banks to include the unbanked, but he believes it is a national security issue when a non-secure form of identification can be used to create and establish a legitimate presence in our financial system. Acceptance of the matricula consular card by financial institutions legitimizes the presence of special interest aliens in the U.S. If incorrect information on the matricula is presented as legitimate and valid, it creates an acceptable presence of that alien in this country. It is much easier to deny a non-secure form of identification for opening a bank account than it is to track and rely on banks to police and report fraudulent documents and information to federal authorities when they do not have access to properly identify these customers to begin with.
The financial industry has also claimed that this amendment will make the practice of accepting the matricula card less safe because the Treasury Department will not be able to conduct proper oversight. The Treasury Department’s final regulation does not state which forms of foreign identification that financial institutions may or may not accept. The regulation places the burden on the financial institution to assess the risks involved and make reasonable efforts to verify the identity with whom they open accounts. If financial institutions are concerned about the security of matricula consular cards, then they should not accept it as a form of identification. The Treasury Department, like financial institutions, has no way to verify the identify of bank customers who possess matriculas because a database of card holders does not exist. Regardless of the Congressman’s language, the Treasury Department is not able to provide proper oversight to this unsafe and unreliable document.
Despite the overwhelming opposition of federal law enforcement, the Treasury Department has allowed the ‘matricula consular’ card to be accepted as a valid form of identification by our financial institutions. Language in the FY2005 House Transportation and Treasury Appropriations bill addresses the concerns of law enforcement by discouraging the acceptance of this unreliable form of identification, and protects our nation from potential terrorists and others who seek to exploit weaknesses within our financial system.
Roll Call Vote 452 - Agreeing to the Oxley AmendmentLaw Enforcement TestimonyTalking PointsMcCraw Testimony Before the House Judiciary CommitteeNational Border Patrol Council Letter9/11 Families for a Secure America Letter - Sept. 119/11 Families for a Secure America Letter - Sept. 13PBS News Hour - Matricula Consular Card