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Card-Carrying Law-Breakers - Life would be so much easier for law enforcement agencies if people who didn’t obey laws would just carry documents identifying themselves as law-breakers. Such a system would take a lot of the guesswork out of law enforcement. Of course, the law-breakers would not be likely to cooperate by carrying such documents…or would they? Approximately 1 million Mexican illegal aliens living in the U.S. now carry consular ID cards that identify them as immigration law violators. These documents, known as matriculas consulares, are used almost exclusively by Mexican nationals who are not eligible for U.S. identity documents and who do not have valid travel documents with a U.S. visa. In other words, they are identity documents for illegal aliens. The concept of an illegal alien ID card strains credulity. But what is truly Orwellian is the reaction to these cards by police departments and government agencies in this country. All across the United States, local governments, social service agencies and police departments have decided to accept the matricula consular as a valid identity document, and to ignore the fact that the people presenting them are breaking the law. Now Palm Beach County Sheriff Ed Bieluch has announced that he will be the first law law enforcement chief in the state of Florida to officially accept identification cards issued by the Mexican government to illegal aliens. In the dozens of jurisdiction that now accept the matricula consular, police are instructed to accept these cards as proof of identity and to ignore the fact that they are also proof that the individual is violating federal immigration laws. Many jurisdictions (including some with severe fiscal problems) also accept the card, in conjunction with a rent receipt or a utility bill, as proof of eligibility for government services. As is often the case, success breeds imitators. Guatemala and Poland have declared that they will issue similar consular IDs to their citizens who are living illegally in the U.S. It is almost inevitable that many other countries will follow suit. But even as means of establishing positive identity the value of these documents is proving dubious. Already, illegal aliens are being discovered with multiple matriculas consulares establishing multiple identities, which may be the result of honest bureaucratic foul-ups or corruption at the consulates that issue the cards. What we can presume is that people who have the need for multiple identities are probably breaking more than just our immigration laws. The federal government can easily put an end to the acceptance of the Mexican consular ID and those that may be issued by other countries. First of all, the acceptance of consular IDs by local governments infringes on the exclusive authority of the federal government to determine who may live in the United States and under what circumstances. On a more practical level Washington can yank tightly on federal purse strings. Almost every city, county and state government experiencing significant levels of illegal immigration turns up in Washington at some time or another with its hand out seeking reimbursement for the costs they incur providing health care, education, or incarcerating illegal aliens who break other laws. Just as Washington has withheld highway funds from states that have balked at imposing speed limits or requiring the use of seat belts, or education funds from school systems that did not aggressively pursue integration policies, the federal government can refuse to reimburse local governments that encourage and abet illegal immigration for the costs associated with illegal immigration. Local politicians cannot logically establish policies that officially sanction the presence of people who are violating federal immigration laws, and then demand federal help to pay for the costs they incur as a result. Or, perhaps they can. Logic, reason, and common sense have been missing elements from U.S. immigration policy and enforcement for a long time. Perhaps we should not be surprised that law-breakers are carrying cards identifying themselves as such, and that numerous local governments are accepting them as valid ID. But in doing so, we are ceding the right to be surprised by the inevitable consequences of a policy that allows card-carrying law-breakers to roam freely. |
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