[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Mr. TANCREDO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, several foreign governments have 
undertaken to distribute identification cards to their nationals living 
illegally in the United States. Some of these governments, specifically 
one of them, Mexico, has taken this one step further and decided to 
begin to use their consular offices here to lobby State and local 
governments in the United States to get them to accept these cards, 
thereby aiding and abetting people living in this country illegally.
  Mr. Speaker, if the United States had asked its consular offices in 
Mexico or any other country to undertake such a practice, there would 
be a storm of protest, and rightly so. Consular offices would be 
closed; officials would be recalled. It would be appropriate for 
governments to respond that way. Our government has not said a word 
about this. It is time, however, that the Government of the United 
States issue a formal protest to the Government of Mexico for this 
egregious, outrageous behavior, and it is time for this government to 
take control of its own immigration policy.

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