Living in America Also Means Freedom to Vote with Our Dollars

One thing I love about this country is the freedom to vote, not just in elections, but also with my feet if I don't want to live in a particular place, my career if I am unhappy with a particular job, and with my dollars if I no longer wish to do business at a certain place. I informed a bank that I currently do business with of my intention to do the latter based on an incident I witnessed in a local branch two days ago (7/7).

While in line waiting to make a deposit, a pair of Hispanic gentlemen walked in, speaking all Spanish. The manager of the branch walked over to the main teller desk and picked up a document, which I later discovered was written entirely in Spanish, handed it to one of the gentleman, and asked him if he was Mexican. The gentleman said, "Si.", so the manager handed him the document and told him that this bank had procedures in place for people relocating from GA (one of the highest growth illegal immigration populations in the country) to TN (fast catching up with GA) to open new accounts. What infuriated me was that he told this man that no Social Security card was required, and that an account could be opened with a TN driver's license (which does not require proof of legal residence) and a Matricula Consular card (issued by the government of MEXICO!).

The U.S. Treasury Dept. and Congress have determined that this Mexican ID card is rife with fraud (a U.S. Congressman who has never been to Mexico was able to get one with his name on it for less than $100), and besides, no one in the U.S. would need this card unless they are here illegally. The Mexican gentleman thanked the manager, and after I completed my transaction, I walked up to the manager and told him that as soon as is practicable I would be withdrawing any money I had from the bank and closing my account. I also told him I knew that the decision to accept the Mexican IDs was far above his paygrade, but to kindly inform his superiors that the reason for me no longer doing business with them is twofold: 1.) Their company is willfully and knowingly engaged in money laundering of illegally obtained funds earned by illegal immigrants working in the U.S. without authorization (see 18 U.S.C. § 1956(A)-(B)). 2.) At best, they are turning a blind eye and giving a wink and a nudge to people who are flagrantly violating federal immigration law. More likely, and worse, they appear to know that they will not be prosecuted either for their illegal acts or enabling the lawbreaking of others, so they see it as an opportunity to pad their bottom line, which is obviously far more important. I was very pleasant and matter of fact throughout my conversation with the employee, during which I also informed him that I would tell as many people as I could about this practice in hopes of inducing them to stop doing business there, and then I left the bank.

I wish that Bank of America was alone in engaging in this sort of practice, but they are not. Wells Fargo proudly boasts of providing home loans and mortgages to people here illegally, and many local banks provide loans to illegal immigrants on the basis of income earned illegally. Here's an idea...let you or me as a legal citizen attempt to get a home mortgage or open a bank account without a SSN and see how far you get. Much like other radical special interest groups, the illegal alien lobby doesn't merely want even equal treatment, they demand, and recieve, special treatment, and it's ridiculous and wrong. But as I told the manager, living in America means not having to give a crap if you do the right thing or not...and in the case of immigration law, it means not having to abide by the law at all if you so choose, because we don't want to hurt anyone's feeeeelings...pathetic.