Banking for Illegal Aliens

I did a little survey this morning to see how hard it is for Illegal Aliens to get a bank account.

I surveyed three area banks and found that it's quite easy. Here are my results:

• Blackhawk Bank: You need two forms of ID. The Matricular Card is "acceptable" form of ID. They also recommended a state ID or driver's license. Also an ITIN number can be used instead of a SSN. The person I talked to does not think that they report this to the INS.
• Amcore Bank: The Matricular Card and a ITIN number may be all that you need to open an account. When asked about the INS, they seemed to indicate that they don't report Illegals.
• Alpine Bank: You need two forms of ID. The Matricular Card is "acceptable" form of ID. The person I talked to mentioned a number of other items that can serve as the second form of ID, including credit cards. An ITIN number can be used instead of a SSN. When asked about the INS, they stated, "we do all required government reporting".

None of the people I talked with seemed at all bothered about giving bank accounts to Illegal Aliens. It seemed more like they supported the idea than anything else.

Of the above banks, only Blackhawk Bank appears to be seeking customers for their "Immigrant Banking Services". I was not able to find similar pages on the other banks' web sites.


Overall, a bit disturbing, don't you think?

-Bob

Update: Bank of America gives credit cards to Illegal Aliens: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251672,00.html