By Joan Maiman
Special to InsideLong lines of Mexican immigrants, many of them in the United States illegally, are creating problems for merchants and pedestrians on North Michigan Ave. as lines—at times of more than 1,000 people—form outside the Mexican Consulate at 300 N. Michigan Ave.
The line, which sometimes begins forming as early as 4 a.m., stretches north across the Michigan Ave. bridge and down North Michigan Ave.—often forcing pedestrians into the traffic on Michigan Ave. and blocking entrances to tony area businesses, creating hazards as small children dart in front of passersby and play in revolving doors, especially at the Walgreens at 300 N. Michigan Ave. At the C.D. Peacock at 342 N. Michigan Ave., manager Joseph Hernandez said some applicants wait in his doorway to get a blast of air conditioning.
The Central Michigan Avenue Association has complained to the city of Chicago and the Mexican Consulate about the long lines damaging their businesses by scaring away customers.
The long lines are a result of Mexicans seeking a "Matricula consular" or Mexican ID card, which illegal immigrants can use as a form of ID in Chicago (as of June 19) to get passports and other official services. After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U. S., the Mexican government was concerned that the 3.5 million Mexicans living in the U. S. with no ID would be mistaken for terrorists. The Mexican government began lobbying the United States. to accept a consular ID as a valid ID. (Many Mexicans threw away all forms of ID before entering the U. S. illegally.)
The City of Chicago voted, in part due to pressure from the growing Mexican population in Chicago—now the second largest Mexican population in the U.S.—to accept the consular ID for city business. Many area banks that want a part of the billions of dollars that immigrants send home each year are also accepting the IDs.
This spring the Mexican Consulate removed waiting applicants from the stairwells of the 300 N. Michigan Ave. building after the Chicago Fire Department—and other businesses in the building—warned that the crowds who blocked stairwells at the building were a fire hazard. This added to the congestion outside.
The Mexican government has said that it will open temporary space and will also build a new $4 million consulate at Ashland Ave. and Adams St., a project expected to take a year. Foes of illegal immigration have blasted Chicago for accepting the IDs and "legitimizing the presence of illegal immigrants," although the ID does not confer legal status.
During the recent hot spells in Chicago paramedics have been called to North Michigan Ave. on many occasions to treat immigrants waiting for hours in the line for the Consulate. In addition, the Chicago Department of Human Services has distributed water to those in the long lines.
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