Politicians must straighten out immigration

I would like to add to Byron Slater's letter printed on Aug. 24, expressing the need to straighten out our immigration mess.

Not only are illegal immigrants draining many services here in California, but the problem is spreading throughout the country.

Matricula consul ID cards are now being seen more often, as are false resident-alien and border-crossing cards. Illegal immigrants are using the matricula ID cards as a form of identification, even though there are still debates in some states as to their accepting it.

In order for a Mexican national to obtain one of these cards, they are required to provide a birth certificate, Mexican voter registration, Mexican military registration (for men), and fill out some forms and return them to the Mexican consul general here in San Diego. What is the guarantee that these required documents are real?

Of course, I am not implying that there is corruption in the Mexican government, and that for the right price, you could purchase a Mexican birth certificate with a seal. That would be unheard of. The fake resident-alien cards are carried by some illegal immigrants. They also have fake Social Security cards with made-up numbers. With these cards, they find work and probably obtain other services. Whoever is elected to office in our state cannot overlook this crisis.

JIM NUTTING

Ramona