When Guillermo Pimentel became a U.S. citizen last year, he gained every American right but said he lost some peace of mind.
He felt there was no way authorities would know to contact his family in Mexico if he were to be involved in a serious accident or end up in the hospital.
It's a fear that subsided the day Mr. Pimentel received a matricula consular card from the Consulate of Mexico in Detroit.
Yesterday, Lucas County commissioners voted 2-1 to accept the matricula consular card, given to those who can prove they're Mexican nationals, as a valid form of personal identification. The resolution said the card would be accepted by any of the commissioners' departments or agencies - though commissioners don't require ID cards - and as a supplement when a federal or state ID is required.
But concerns that the card would be used mostly by Mexican immigrants living in this country illegally divided the commissioners and sparked a flurry of correspondence from people all over the country.
"This boils down to the fact that the only person who needs this card is somebody who doesn't have any other form of identification," said Commissioner Maggie Thurber, the lone dissenter to the resolution. "They need to follow the rules and regulations, and those say we recognize U.S. documentation first."
Antonio Meza, the Mexican consul in Detroit, attended the meeting to support the resolution. He said other cities throughout northwest Ohio and southern Michigan already have agreed to recognize the cards, which he said gives law enforcement and emergency personnel the knowledge to contact the Mexican consulate when looking for family members.
Toledo City Council approved a similar resolution in July, 2002, making it the first city in the Midwest to accept the cards as a valid form of ID, Mr. Meza said.
Other entities that have approved use of the card include Sandusky County, Fostoria, Fremont, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, and the city of Monroe. Various banks also recognize the consular ID card.
"I want to reinforce that our purpose is to work with the county in terms of security," Mr. Meza said before the commissioner meeting. "The main purpose of this is the human rights of these persons, especially the right to have identification."
The commissioners' decision was applauded by people like Mr. Pimentel, who drove from Cleveland to support the resolution at yesterday's meeting. Although now a U.S. citizen, Mr. Pimentel said his new identification cards, including his driver's license, does not indicate to emergency responders that they need to start looking for his family in Mexico.
"All along, I am legal in this country and I am aware of my responsibility for having the right documents," said Mr. Pimentel who became an American citizen in October, 2004. "Yet I always lived with timeless concern that if something happened to me, who is going to know and how will they know to contact the Mexican government?"
Supporters said that the card also will give the person a form of ID when reporting crime and opening savings accounts, among other circumstances. It cannot be used in lieu of a federal or state ID required when applying for services such as food stamps or even locally to obtain a library card.
The resolution caused concern to others, who fear the cards are a way of legitimizing illegal immigrants. The commissioners received letters from various individuals and organizations, including 9/11 Families for a Secure America, opposing acceptance of the cards.
"Aliens who are legally in the U.S.A. do not need matricula cards because they have passports and visas," read a letter signed by families of the Sept. 11, 2001, victims. "If you grant recognition to holders of these cards, you are facilitating the operations of the unknown terrorists who hide among 'ordinary' illegals."
Contact Erica Blake at:
eblake@theblade.com
or 419-724-6076.
First Published June 29, 2005, 11:05 a.m.
