Linda Chavez and the Matricula Consular Card

Date: Saturday, November 30, 2002 1:53 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

President-elect George W. Bush nominated Linda Chavez to be Secretary of
Labor in January 2001. Chavez harbored an illegal immigrant in her home for
two years before she was nominated by George W. Bush as Labor Secretary.

She had to withdraw her nomination for cabinet secretary because of the bad
publicity this was creating for Bush's campaign. Chavez wasn't treated
equally because her boss, George Bush, has always been in favor of H-1B and
he wants to allow at least 1 million illegal aliens to enter the US every
year to work. Bush dumped Chavez mainly because of the negative publicity -
not because he has a problem with immigrants taking jobs in the USA.

Chavez is jumping on the matricula consular bandwagon so it's useful to go
to the following link to find out more about this dangerous trend:
http://www.vdare.com/awall/consular_card.htm

The matricula consular card is recognized by many states as being a valid
passport. It allows aliens to come to the U.S. to work and it gives them a
right to get a driver's license, medical care, and various other benefits
that used to be reserved for citizens. Chavez thinks that the matricula
consular is the answer to bringing in foreign workers until a new guest work
visa is approved. This is a very dangerous development and will only serve
to further undermine American workers.

For a humorous picture of Chavez go to the following page and scroll down a
little bit:
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/WorkVisaHumor.htm

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/lc20021113.shtml
November 13, 2002

Guest worker visas

Washington's unwillingness to deal with illegal immigration has emboldened
several Latin American governments to come up with their own solutions. An
estimated 9 million illegal aliens from Latin America live in the United
States, so Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have recently begun
issuing identification cards to illegal aliens through their consular
offices in the U.S. These IDs allow illegal aliens living here to open bank
accounts, obtain drivers' licenses and library cards, and fly on U.S.
domestic airlines.

While many Americans may find the practice objectionable, a number of local
and state governments have been quick to embrace these new "matricula
consular" IDs as a way to bring illegal aliens in their communities out of
the shadows, where they are easy prey to criminals and scam artists. So far,
several jurisdictions in California, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia and
elsewhere have decided to accept these identification cards where official
government IDs are required.

Now, El Salvador has gone a step further in driving U.S. immigration policy
by actually lobbying its nationals to stay in the United States -- even
though they came here illegally in the first place. Salvadoran President
Francisco Flores recently sent recorded messages to Salvadorans living in
the U.S., reminding them to re-apply for the limited amnesty they were
granted two years ago in the wake of two devastating earthquakes in their
home country. The emergency measure permitted Salvadorans who entered the
U.S. illegally prior to February 2001 to apply for temporary work permits,
which expired in September 2002. The message from the Salvadoran president
was delivered via Americatel, a long-distance carrier, to some 750,000
persons in the United States who had placed calls to El Salvador previously.

Mexico, El Salvador and other Latin American countries are taking these
unorthodox steps because illegal immigration has become a safety valve for
their own struggling economies. Those unable to find jobs in their own
countries simply sneak across the border to the United States, where work is
relatively plentiful and wages are substantially higher than at home. What's
more, these illegal aliens send literally billions of dollars home to
support family members left behind. Throughout Latin America, these
remittances from illegal aliens living in the United States have boosted
local economies, even providing needed infrastructure in some communities --
roads, schools and even sewers for remote villages. Experts estimate that
remittances from family members living in the U.S. are now the chief source
of foreign aid to Latin America.

But can the United States afford to have other countries encouraging their
nationals to disobey U.S. immigration law? The fact is, these countries are
simply taking advantage of the vacuum that exists in American immigration
policy. Despite a lot of bombastic political rhetoric over illegal
immigration, most politicians -- from both parties -- are unwilling to take
the bull by the horns and come up with a sensible solution.

Like it or not, it's not possible simply to round up all the illegal aliens
in the country and ship them home. Nor would it be desirable to do so. Our
economy is simply too dependent on their labor to withstand a round up of
illegals like the one the U.S. engaged in during the Great Depression. Most
illegal aliens are gainfully employed doing dirty, often dangerous jobs that
Americans won't take, at least not at wages that allow employers to keep the
jobs here rather than ship the jobs overseas.

The only answer is a properly constructed guest worker program that
regulates the flow of workers into the country, depending on economic
conditions in the United States. When we face boom times and labor
shortages, we should be able to bring in more workers. When the job market
tightens and the economy contracts, we should be able to send them home
again. Those already living and working here, albeit illegally, ought to be
able to "earn" legal status by paying a hefty fine for having broken our
immigration laws, learning English and demonstrating work history and skills
that make them a good bet as future workers.

A guest worker program may not be the perfect solution to our growing
illegal immigration problem, but it's a lot better than what we have now:
U.S. officials' wink and a nod to illegal immigration and foreign
governments' open encouragement to their nationals to flout our laws.

Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a
TownHall.com member organization.

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