Peter Gadiel is the president of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, a group of 9/11 families that have received less press attention than other similar groups. On April 13's Lou Dobbs show on CNN, he showed Dobbs a "Matricula Consular" card, which is an old form of identification issued by the Mexican government that's lately been reproposed as IDs for illegal aliens.

In response, Arturo Sarukhan, Consul General of Mexico, sent Gadiel a letter that includes the following:

In this regard, I would kindly ask you to surrender to this Consulate General the forged identification card which you have claimed you purchased in California in order to begin the corresponding investigation along with the federal authorities in New York and California. I am also advising you that our attorneys are currently exploring all legal avenues on this matter to determine responsibilities in the purchase and use of a forged Mexican government issued ID.

The PDF file with the letter is here. Gadiel discussed this on Lou Dobb's show last night, and the transcript is here, which includes this:

GADIEL: [Matricular Consular cards] are for sale everywhere. They are not at all secure. And -- but the important thing that people should remember is that it isn't the card itself that -- for example, a driver's license can be counterfeited. But it's not the card itself that's the process, the database at the Motor Vehicles Department that makes the card secure. This -- there is no database, according to the FBI, and even if there were a database in Mexico, it's quite likely the Mexican government would not allow our government access to it, because that would reveal the names and addresses of illegal aliens living in this country...

Most likely nothing will come of this, however it is certainly a telling incident. Of course, the Mexican government also tried to block the Minuteman project, even hiring an unknown Los Angeles law firm to help them in their efforts. They've taken other legal steps, including suing the U.S. in the International Court of Justice over Mexican nationals being executed for committing crimes in the U.S. And, you can read about a similar threat being made not by the Mexican government, but by Los Angeles County supervisor Gloria Molina.

"Consular IDs help illegals evade immigration law" has more on a GAO report on the cards. The FBI does not consider them a reliable form of identification. Despite that, the Bush administration supports them and they're accepted by many banks across the U.S. That last link also details how Mexican consuls drive around the backroads of the U.S. passing out the cards to their citizens, irregardless of whether they're here legally or not. No, really.

UPDATE: Not only banks but local governments accept the cards as valid ID. Mexican consuls also attend local city council meetings (frequently with illegal aliens along as a cheering section) pitching the councils on accepting the cards. Here are just two examples: Napa, CA and St. Clair County MI. Nancy Pelosi even tried to get Matricula Consular cards accepted as valid ID at the federal building in San Francisco. Her spokeswoman said it was so Pelosi's "constituents" could visit Pelosi's office there.