WASHINGTON - Spurred by congressional debate over the status of illegal immigrants, some lawmakers are trying once again to block banks from accepting matricula consular and other foreign identification cards when customers open accounts.
The House Appropriations Committee rejected such a measure late Tuesday, but industry representatives said they are concerned lawmakers could try again as early as next week.
"This remains such a hot issue in Congress - the whole immigration issue - that I'd be surprised if it didn't come up again" soon, said Steve Verdier, the director of congressional relations for the Independent Community Bankers of America.
It was a hot issue in 2003 when the Treasury Department finalized regulations giving banks leeway in determining which IDs are acceptable for opening customer accounts. Though several lawmakers objected, arguing that the use of matricula cards for opening accounts should be banned, the issue largely faded from discussion until now.
President Bush recently renewed his efforts to create a guest worker program, and several conservative groups have lobbied for Congress to institute criminal penalties against illegal immigrants and those who harbor them.
Some lawmakers have argued that banks should do more to stop illegal immigrants from using the banking system, and that banks should not accept matricula cards, which are popular among Mexican immigrants, as IDs.
Industry representatives oppose attempts to curtail the cards' use, saying that banning them would prevent millions of legal immigrants from using the banking system and hinder efforts to bring unbanked consumers into the system.
"Treasury has testified there's a sense of not wanting people to be 'mattress depositors,' " said James Ballentine, the director of community and economic development for the American Bankers Association. "We want to see as many people as possible who are unbanked become a part of the system."
An amendment that Rep. John Culberson, R-Tex., tried to add Tuesday to the Treasury Department appropriations bill would have blocked it from appropriating funds to let institutions accept foreign IDs other than passports when opening accounts. The amendment was rejected by voice vote.
The bill is expected to go to the House floor as early as next week; it is unclear if Rep. Culberson would try to add his amendment then. A spokeswoman for Rep. Culberson said the issue was "important," but she would not say if he would bring it up again.
The issue also could be raised by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who led the fight three years ago to stop banks from accepting the matricula card.
House Financial Services Committee leaders sent a letter Tuesday to the Appropriations Committee urging it not to accept Rep. Culberson's amendment.
"While the intent of the proponent of the amendment clearly is to prevent the acceptance of a particular form of identification issued by the Mexican government, the practical effect of the amendment would be to strike a serious blow at the government's efforts to combat terrorist financing, primarily by driving individuals into the financial underground," wrote Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, the panel's chairman, and Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the committee's lead Democrat.
Steven Adamske, a spokesman for Rep. Frank, said that if the amendment up on the House floor, "we are prepared to fight it."
Krista Shonk, a regulatory counsel for America's Community Bankers, said prohibiting the card's use in opening accounts "will have the effect of forcing nonresidents and immigrants, both legal and illegal, to transact business underground with informal and unregulated financial services providers."
Industry representatives said the issue would not go away while Congress continues to debate the status of illegal immigrants, and it could come up in other venues.
"This could come up again in any form or fashion in this environment where there's a lot of immigration discussion taking place," Mr. Ballentine said.
He said he is already concerned that the debate could have a chilling effect on banks looking to market themselves to immigrants.
