Beauprez's Mexican ID vote questioned

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 16, 2006 at midnight

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A vote by U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez to allow banks to accept an ID card the Mexican government gives to illegal immigrants has raised the issue of whether Beauprez faced a conflict of interest and voted to protect his own bank.

The use of "matricula consular" cards has been controversial in Colorado. The cards, which are issued by the Mexican consulate, are intended to help illegal immigrants prove their identity in the U.S. In 2003, the Colorado legislature passed a law forbidding state and local governments from accepting the cards as identification.

Beauprez founded Heritage Bank in the early 1990s, becoming chairman and CEO as the company grew to 14 locations and more than $400 million of assets. He stepped down after being elected to Congress in 2002.

In 2004, Beauprez broke ranks with the other Republicans in Colorado's congressional delegation and voted in favor of an amendment that allowed banks to accept the matricula consular cards from their customers. Heritage Bank, like many others, accepts the IDs from Mexican citizens who want to open an account or take out a loan.

"He voted to maintain private financial institutions' ability to use those cards," said John Marshall, spokesman for Beauprez. "Private business needs to enforce their due diligence on hiring employees, but they shouldn't be forced to become immigration police."

Marshall said Heritage began accepting the Mexican IDs after Beauprez left the bank. His wife, Claudia, however, still serves on the bank's board.

"Bob has no role (in the bank)other than being a shareholder," said Marshall.

The legislation that Beauprez supported was a bipartisan bill that also had the support of the Bush administration. Still, most Republicans in Congress opposed the bill, including Coloradans Tom Tancredo, Joel Hefley and Marilyn Musgrave. Beauprez was one of 49 Republicans who voted with Democrats to pass the bill.

Tancredo, who has become one of the country's best-known crusaders against illegal immigration, said he thinks banks like Heritage accept the Mexican IDs purely for profit.

"The matricula consular has long been recognized by the FBI and other law enforcement officials as an easily forged document," Tancredo said in a statement Tuesday. "Many financial institutions quickly embraced the IDs out of a desire for financial gain without any regard for national security implications."

A loan application on Heritage Bank's Web site says the bank will accept the matricula consular cards along with one additional form of ID, including a birth certificate, passport or major credit card. Many of the country's largest banks now accept the Mexican IDs.

"It's become a common practice over the last five years," said Mark Martinez, a former Heritage Bank executive vice president who is launching a new bank. "It's prevalent across the industry. Wells Fargo and Bank of America regularly accept the matricula cards as acceptable ID for opening bank accounts."

A press release on Wells Fargo's Web site says that more than 250,000 people have opened accounts with the bank using the card.

Beauprez's opponent, Democrat Bill Ritter, was quick to criticize the vote.

"On the one hand he claims to be tough on immigration, but he votes to accept a form of ID the state of Colorado does not recognize and the FBI says is unreliable," said Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Ritter. "It appears to be a self-serving vote that favors his banking interests. It's another example of the congressman wanting to have it both ways."

Marshall insisted that Beauprez's vote was a principled one against regulatory burdens on business. He also emphasized that Beauprez had left Heritage Bank before it began accepting the IDs.

"It's a fair question whether folks ought to be allowed to use (the cards)," Marshall said. "The fact is (that) it wasn't Bob's decision."

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