Mexican Consulate Deluged With ID Applications

DENVER -- Mexican immigrants are deluging their country's consulate in Denver to apply for identity cards that could give them greater access to city services.

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A record 750 Mexican citizens applied Saturday for the matricula consular identification card issued by the Mexican Consulate in Denver. Nearly two-thirds received a $29 card, consulate spokesman Mario Hernandez said Monday.

"People were working until 9:30 at night (Saturday) because the lines were so long," said Hernandez, whose office usually issues 100 cards per day.

"I spoke on Spanish-language radio stations and asked that people stop showing up because we ran out of forms," he said. "This is an absolutely phenomenal response. We're amazed."

Last week, Mayor Wellington Webb said Denver should officially recognize the cards, which are available for legal and illegal immigrants, as legitimate identification. The plan will be considered by the City Council.

"The identification card does not establish legal status in the United States," the mayor said last week, "but it does provide official identification to undocumented immigrants."

The mayor's decision makes Denver among the largest of more than 40 U.S. cities that now recognize the ID. The card is controversial because it is used mostly by illegal immigrants who cannot get a U.S. driver's license or other identification because of their immigration status.

Webb said the city should accept the ID (pictured, left) in part because officials were satisfied it would be much harder to falsify than earlier versions and that requirements to obtain one are stricter.

To obtain a card Mexican nationals must present an original copy of a birth certificate, as well as a Mexican national voter registration card.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a fierce advocate of curtailing illegal immigration, blasted the ID card idea.

"The only people who benefit from having such an ID are those who have come illegally and have broken our laws," the Jefferson County Republican said in a statement issued shortly after Webb's announcement. "It is ludicrous to believe that this method is a legitimate way of proving identity. Frankly, it's a complete farce, and it's far too risky for our city government to be accepting such flimsy identification cards during a time when our nation is vulnerable to future terrorist attacks."