WSB TV Atlanta

Enforcement activist: Atlanta breaking state immigration law

By Tom Regan

ATLANTA —
An outspoken advocate of immigration enforcement has filed a complaint with a state compliance agency against the city of Atlanta.

The complaint accuses Atlanta’s mayor and city council of violating HB87, Georgia’s immigration law that was passed last year. The complaint says the city continues to accept Mexican government photo identification cards as valid for city government transactions.

The cards are called “Matricula Consular.”

“The Matricula Consular is listed as unacceptable identification in HB87. On their ordinance, they’re accepting it for any transaction as proof of identity,” immigration enforcement activist D.A. King said.

King told Channel 2’s Tom Regan the MC card, which is officially issued by the Mexican Consulate, is counterfeited and sold online. He said it is easily copied and duplicated, making it unreliable.

“These cards are not difficult to get. I have two of them myself,” King said.

One of the cards shows a picture of King and identifies him as “Al Qaeda Gonzolez.” The card was shown in an online article by a Hispanic newspaper advocating use of the card in Mexico.

“We have cases of law enforcement officers that have stopped people [who are] in the country illegally that not only have one or two Mexican Metricula Consular cards, but as many as 12 with different names,” King said.

Regan went to the Mexican Consulate of Atlanta for comment on the card controversy. A representative said no one was available for comment Tuesday.

A representative for Mayor Kasim Reed told Regan the law department of the city of Atlanta would look at the complaint and the ordinance to determine if acceptance of the MC identification is illegal under state immigration law.

HERE