Recognizing Mexican IDs ignores law
Articles
In the culmination of yearlong negotiations between a foreign power and a local government in the United States. Atlanta has apparently begun to form its own immigration policy.
As reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution May 26, Mayor Shirley Franklin signed into law an agreement with the Mexican government that recognizes the Mexican matricula consular ID as valid for all official Atlanta business ("Atlanta OKs Mexican IDs," Atlanta & the World).
Only illegal aliens have a need for the matricula consular.
Legal immigrants will have several forms of valid ID, including a stamped passport, a visa or a U.S. immigration "green card."
That most banks in Mexico do not accept the matricula because of its proven ease of falsification apparently was not a consideration for the Atlanta City Council or the mayor.
Neither was the fact that encouraging illegal immigration is a crime in and of itself.
Franklin's quote that the ID card "helps to promote public safety and public health by allowing Mexican nationals to access services" makes it clear that she is either unaware or feels above the federal law that makes it a felony to encourage or assist illegal aliens in our republic. Will the city next begin to offer jobs to these fugitives from justice?
According to Franklin staffer Claire McLeveighn, the Mexican consul general in Atlanta approached the City Council more than a year ago to begin negotiations for the matricula's acceptance by the city government. That fact becomes noteworthy when one reads Article 55 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963: "Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that state."
While ignoring U.S. law is not a new practice for the Mexican government, it is interesting that it so openly demonstrates its disregard for the international treaty to which it is a signatory.
In taking this action, it would be advisable for the mayor to investigate whether the city's liability coverage will include coverage for the inevitable lawsuit demanding compensation for a citizen's loss that will surely result because of the city's encouragement of illegal aliens. To demonstrate the unreliability and ease of obtaining a matricula consular ID, this concerned citizen got his own nearly a year ago.
More than a million illegals entered our nation last year, and the U.S. census shows us that 70 percent of this group comes from Mexico.
Which other of our laws do we ignore in an effort to "provide services" to them?
-- D.A. King of Marietta is founder of the American Resistance Foundation, which opposes illegal immigration.
