HOW TO START A CHECKING ACCOUNT

There are very few people in this country that do not have a checking account. It is almost a necessity in today’s business environment. We all have to mail payments to some finance company or just to pay our electric bill. If you want to apply for a credit card, your chances of being accepted will be much greater if you have a checking account. Whenever you start an account, usually you will have to fill out a form with standard information, such as address, phone number, social security number, etc. While this is standard practice for the citizens of this country to give this information, I was surprised to learn that this information is not required of some people who are in our country illegally.

In 2003 the U.S. Treasury Department issued a regulation that allows banks to accept the Matricula Consular card as a valid ID. The cards were issued by the Mexican government to thousands of its citizens who then came to the United States illegally. Recently a major American bank stated that customers do not need even a Social Security number to open an account. I have also read that many Mexican banks refuse to accept the Matricula cards. The Marticula cards aids people who are here in the country illegally. Some people will say that the cards are not meant for the illegals. If a person is in this country legally they will have a passport or other documentation to prove that.

We have a problem with illegal immigration and I agree with that statement. Whenever we have banks that allow someone to open checking accounts with minimal information we are allowing people that violate our laws access to our financial system. When you get down to the nitty gritty those banks are aiding and abetting someone that is here illegally.