That's the legitimate diplomatic reason to issue them. (Another would be consular notification in the event of arrest . . . I recall that someone who didn't have the benefit consular notification was put to death recently).

That's how the IDs are used and most probably the motivation for their issuance. But just because the IDs are overwhelmingly used by unlawfully present aliens as a general-purpose indentification card does not make the issuance of the card illegal and does not take away the fact that there is a legitimate diplomatic reason for the issuance of such a card (even though that is not the actual motivation behind the country's issuance of the card).

The notion that accepting the card is a crime is simply false because the cards provide no information as to a holder's legal status in the United States. (They can be issued to legally-present Mexican nationals as well though, I imagine few use them).

I don't particularly like the Matricula Consular because of the way they are used-- and I certainly wouldn't accept it for any purpose-- but that doesn't mean they are illegal for someone else to accept (something that nutty website says).

I don't like it when people inject politics into interpretation of the law.