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The Korean government will issue ID cards for Koreans staying illegally in the U.S. in a bid to make a problem that is likely here to stay more manageable, Seoul’s Embassy in Washington said in a statement Sunday.
The Korean Consulate in Los Angeles has agreed with city officials to issue consular identification cards for illegal aliens who have otherwise no way of proving their identity. The cards will list their nationality, birth date and address in a move expected to make life easier for visa overstayers. Implementation is slated for the middle of next year and could be expanded across the U.S. later.
There are an estimated 140,000 illegal Korean residents living in the U.S., compared to several million from Latin America. One problem with the planned IDs is that they identify their holders as illegal immigrants, while there are also fears and they could encourage illegal immigration. But an embassy source said the LA city government has made it clear that the program is not an effort to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Mexico, which accounts for the largest influx of illegal residents in the U.S., already operates a similar system.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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