Banks Still Can Accept Matrícula Consular Under Treasury Deptartment Rule

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Congressional Developments

BANKS STILL CAN ACCEPT MATRÍCULA CONSULAR UNDER TREASURY DEPT. RULE
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 6, October 21, 2003

The U.S. Treasury Dept. granted a victory to immigrants who use consular identity cards, as well as to the banks who serve them, when it announced on Sept. 18 that recently issued rules allowing banks to accept such documents from persons seeking to open accounts will not be changed. The most common such ID card currently being used in the U.S. is the matrícular consular (literally, "consular registration"), which is issued by the Mexican government.

As previously reported, shortly after the Treasury Dept. announced final rules implementing new customer identification and verification requirements as mandated by sec. 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the rules were opened for new comments (see "Acceptance of the Matrícula Consular in the U.S. is under Attack," IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS UPDATE, July 15, 2003, p. 3). The request for new comments, which the department made under pressure from members of Congress who are outspoken immigration restrictionists, asked whether banks should be prohibited from accepting foreign government-issued documents other than passports as acceptable forms of ID.

Those who submitted comments during the 30-day comment period that ended July 31, 2003, overwhelmingly supported acceptance of foreign identity documents. Of the 23,898 comments submitted, 19,770 (or 83 percent of the total) asked that the rules remain unchanged.

The Treasury Dept. nevertheless still had to make a final decision in the face of pressure applied by lawmakers who oppose the use of consular IDs. In deciding to retain the final rules as written, the department concluded that it had already considered all relevant information when it issued the rules in the first place. The decision issued by the department on Sept. 18 also warns banks that they are responsible for both assessing risks associated with accepting particular documents and taking steps to minimize those risks. The Treasury Dept. also left intact the rule that allowed financial institutions not to maintain photocopies of ID documents.

The ruling is a tribute to the many immigrants' advocates and financial institutions that submitted comments and made their voices heard. However, the struggle over the acceptability and use of consular ID cards is far from over, as bills prohibiting their acceptance by the federal government are still pending in Congress (see "Commentators Favor Matrícula Consular, but ID Acceptance Encounters Other Roadblocks," IRU, Sept. 3, 2003, p. 3).

A Treasury Dept. fact sheet explaining the decision is available online at www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/js7432.doc. The fact sheet is entitled "Results of the Notice of Inquiry on Final Regulations Implementing Customer Identity Requirements under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act."