Whenever something shady is going on that no one seems to like, just follow the money to see who's profiting. In the case of illegal immigration, look no farther than the banking industry -- they're making a killing opening accounts for illegal aliens using the Mexican matricula consular card.
LOS ANGELES, October 24, 2003 – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) said today that the number of accounts opened using the Mexican matricula card has surpassed a quarter million since November 7, 2001, when it began accepting the card.
In addition, the monthly number of new accounts opened by customers using the matricula card has increased nearly seven-fold since November 2001. An average of 22,000 new accounts were opened each of the last three months by customers using the matricula card, compared with an average of only about 3,400 in each of the three months after November 2001.
Note that that was in 2003; a year later I've heard that they've doubled enrollment to more than half a million... and that's just one bank. Just imagine how much money they make wiring dinero to Mexico!
“Our experience with accounts opened with the matricula card essentially has been no different than that for accounts opened with U.S. driver’s licenses or state identification cards,” said Shelley Freeman, Los Angeles regional president at Wells Fargo. “More than 38 million Hispanics live in the U.S. – half of them in California and Texas – and we want them to know that Wells Fargo welcomes their business and wants to be the financial services company of choice for the Hispanic community.”
Yeah, but matricula cards aren't used by generic Hispanics, many of whom are American citizens and have been here for generations. Matricula cards are used by illegal immigrants almost exclusively. It must be insulting to American Hispanics to be lumped together with these criminals.
The Freepers held a protest against Wells Fargo last Saturday in Temecula, and via that thread I see a link from to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, also known as MALDEF. These are the folks responsible for halting the crackdown on illegal immigration in Redondo Beach. From the Free Republic piece we get to MALDEF's 2002-2003 annual report, which lists a whole host of companies that likely profit from illegal immigration and want to keep it going. I've posted the complete list in the extended entry.
From MALDEF's annual report:
OUR CORPORATE AND
FOUNDATION PARTNERS
PLATINUM PARTNERS: $100,000+
Anheuser-Busch Companies
The Ford Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation
The Sandler Family Supporting
Foundation
Soros Foundation
Washington Mutual
GOLD PARTNERS: $50,000 – $99,999
America’s Charities
California Community Foundation
Center for Law in the Public Interest
The Gerber Foundation
Houston Endowment Inc.
Jeht Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
Levi Strauss Foundation
Marguerite Casey Foundation
The Rosenberg Foundation
The State Bar of California
SILVER PARTNERS: $10,000 – $49,000
Arthur M. Blank Foundation
AT&T
Bank of America
BELO Corporation
BP
Bracewell & Patterson, L.L.P
The Bravo Foundation
The California Endowment
The Coca-Cola Company
The David & Katherine Moore Family
Foundation
David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Exelon Corporation
Fannie Mae Foundation
Ford Motor Company
The Gas Company, A Sempra Energy
Company
General Motors Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation
Intercultural Development Research
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
Law Offices of Enrique Moreno
Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, Pena &
Sampson, LLP
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw
McDonald’s Corp.
Motorola, Inc
NBC4 / Telemundo 52
Prudential Financial
Shell Oil Company
Southern California Edison
Southwest Airlines
Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation
Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.
TXU Corporation
Tyson Foods, Inc
Univision Television Group, Inc.
Verizon Communications, Inc.
Walt Disney Company
Wells Fargo & Company
Winston & Strawn
Zubi Advertising Services, Inc.
BRONZE PARTNERS: $1,000 – $9,999
AARP
Abbott Laboratories Fund
The Abernathy/McGregor Group
ABN AMRO Services Company
ACS State and Local Solutions
AFL-CIO
The Ahmanson Foundation
AIG Invesment LLC
American Federation of Teachers
Amigas de MALDEF
AOL Time Warner, Inc.
Arnold & Porter
Automobile Club of Southern California
Azteca Foods
Baker & Hostetler, LLP
Baker & McKenzie
Barnes & Thornburg
Bechtel Infrastructure Corp.
Blockbuster Inc.
The Boeing Company
California Commerce Bank
California Healthcare Foundation
California Hospital Medical Center
California State University Foundation
California Teachers Association
Callejo & Callejo Law Firm
CBS WBBM-TV
CBS2 / KCAL9
Chicago Community Trust
Citigroup Business Services
Coastal Securities LP
ConocoPhillips, Inc.
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
Cummins Engine Foundation
DaimlerChrysler Corp. Fund
Delgado, Acosta, Braden & Jones, P.C.
Deloitte & Touche
Deutsche Bank
Diageo North America, Inc.
Dreamworks SKG
Edison International Corp.
Fannie Mae
The Fluor Foundation
Francis Beidler Foundation
Freeborn & Peters
Gardner Carton & Douglas, LLC
Gloria Molina For Supervisor
Goldberg, Kohn et al.
Goldman Sachs & Company
Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen &
Dardarian
H.E.Butt Grocery Company
The Hearst Service Center
Hilgers & Watkins, P.C.
Holland & Knight
Houston Community College System -
Southeast College
Irell & Manella, LLP
J.P. Morgan Chase
Jenner & Block LLC
Katten Muchin Zavis Foundation, Inc.
KB Home
KTLA 5
KTTV Fox 11
L.A. Dept. of Water and Power
La Agencia De Orci y Asociados
Latham & Watkins
Law Offices of Francisco G. Medina
Law Offices of Frank Herrera, Jr.
Law Offices of Nicholas R. Allis
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
Linebarger Goggan et al.
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Lord, Bissell & Brooks
Los Angeles Times
Macias & Associates
Markle Foundation
Matt Construction Corporation
Matt Garcia Foundation
McDonald’s Hispanic Operators
Association
Mehri & Skalet, LLC
Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C.
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Naegelin Investment Company
Nissan North America, Inc.
Northern Trust Giving Program
Occidental Petroleum Corp.
O’Melveny & Myers, LLP
Our Lady of the Lake University
Paul Hastings
Pepsi Cola Bottling Company
Performing Arts Foundation
Perry & Haas, L.L.P.
Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
Sharing our Vision
Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe
PipeVine, Inc.
Ramirez & Co. Inc.
Ramona’s Food Products, Inc.
Rangel Cosulting
Reliant Energy
Relman & Associates
Rose & Kindel
San Antonio Express News
San Francisco Foundation
Schieffelin & Somerset
Schiff Hardin & Waite
SEIU Local 660
Seyfarth Shaw Attorneys
Shapleig For Senate Campaign
Shared Services Group
Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood LLP
Siegman Consulting
Social & Health Research Center
Soza & Company LTD.
St. Mary’s University School of Law
State Farm Insurance
Strasburger & Price LLP
Strumwasser & Woocher, LLP
TACHE
Taco Bell Corp. (YUM! Brands, Inc.)
Texas A & M University Health
Science Center
Texas A&M University at Kingsville
Texas A&M University Foundation
Texas Association of Higher Education
Trinity University
UFCW Local 881
Union Bank of California
United Way of Lake Area
United Way of the Bay Area
University of California Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of Houston
University of Notre Dame
University of Southern California
USAA Foundation
Walgreens Company
Wal-Mart Foundation
OUR INDIVIDUAL DONORS:
$50,000+
Antonia Hernández & Hon. Michael L.
Stern
$25,000+
Federico Jimenez
$10,000+
Nicholas R. Allis
David & Katherine Moore
Joseph A. Stern
$5,000+
Tom Reston
Hector Cuellar
Frank Quevedo
Monica Lozano
$2,500+
Arthur Acevedo
Morris J. Baller & Christine Brigagliano
Norma Cantu
Antonia Castaneda & Arturo Madrid
Arturo Jauregui
Deborah C. Kastrin
Helen L. Luna
$1,000+
Margarita J. Alcala
Barbara Aldave
Edward J. Avila
Jaime Davila
David-Damian Figueroa
Telemachus P. Kasulis
Romulo & Roseanne Lopez
Enrique Moreno
Augustina A. Reyes & Michael A. Olivas
Ken Rosh
Margaret P. Saenz
Guadalupe Salinas
Katherine Sugg
Diana M. Torres
Ann Marie Wheelock
$500+
Xavier Becerra
Steven W. Brown
David & Marta Cerda
Henry G. Cisneros
Hector J. & Margaret M. Cuellar
John & Veronica Feehan
Albert Gurulé
Donald Hubert
Robert & Eleanor Juceam
Stephen Levy
Raymond Lightstone
Francisco & Margarita Medina
Bernard M. Murphy
Gilbert Tauck
Nancy & Steven Ttee
John G. Wymer, III
Jaime E. Yordan
Ronnie C. Zepeda
$250+
Maria A. Berriozabal
Elena A. Alvarez
Samuel Briones
Alex Chaves
Ann Cohen
Gordon Conway
R. Jason Dcruz
Marisa J. Demeo
Ned Dickey, Jr.
Nancy Falk
Mark Fassold
Rose M. Fuenzalida
Paul D. Gewitz
Barry Goldstein
Michael J. Hirschhorn
Paul Kleppner
Roger L. Kohn
Mark Lopez
Ray & Sylvia Lucero
Gary & Kimberly Lutz
Samuel M. Matchett
John McCartney
Samuel Mendenhall
David Mendez
Manuel O. Mendez
Olivia F. Mercado
Susana M. Navarro
Frank B. Olguin
Donald L. Pierce
Bonnie Podolsky
Francisco R. Razo
Richard J. Rice
Manuel Sanchez
A.D. & Elenor Sellstrom
Stuart K. Taussig
Michael Thompson
Roland Anthony Ulloa
Renato & Jeanne Velasquez
James & Lisa Viveros
Anna M. & Timothy J. Voortman
Barbara B. Walker
This really peeves me. And to top it off, my bank is one of MALDEF's Platinum Partners (>$100,000)! I am definitely going to look into switching banks.
Does anyone know of any banks that do not contribute to MALDEF? I would rather do my banking there, even if the fees are higher, than support a bank that supports a group (MALDEF) that is 180 degrees in opposition to my own beliefs and values.
Can you imagine, here it is just over two years later, and the Senate is about to debate a bill, that will send a lot of illegals running for the banks to withdraw their money and go home?
The banks will be in shock.
:)
BR