Bank of America aims new credit card at illegal immigrants

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, typically illegal immigrants, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

In recent years, banks across the country have been offering checking accounts and even mortgages to the nation's fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic, the paper said, adding these immigrants generally have not been able to get major credit cards.

The new Bank of America card is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft, the Journal said.

Bank of America tested the program last year at five branches in Los Angeles, and last week expanded it to 51 branches in Los Angeles County, home to the largest concentration of illegal immigrants in the U.S., the Journal said.

The bank hopes to roll out the program nationally later this year, the paper said.

A Bank of America spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews....=rss&rpc=22

[Aymerlu 3]

Sheesh....and my legal immigrant hubby can't get a credit card

[SoL. 0]

Aha, just give them more incentives so they stay illegal and keep comming! And the rest of us here cannot get anything doing things the legal way.

Sorry for the rant, this is just getting so OLD.

[Fandango 1,439]

this opens the door to one potential probbo after another...sheesh

Sorry for the rant, this is just getting so OLD.

Took the words right outta my mouth

Edited February 13, 2007 by LisaD

[moelarrycheese 0]

My wife gets credit card offers all the time, just like me (and possibly everyone with a job). But then she reads the small print about the interest rates, and throws them away. I'm so proud of her!

[Heracles 417]

Since 9/11 the US government has cracked down on various financial accounts, as well as foreign accounts, held in the US yet let "illegal" immigrants continue to get a free ride.. It does not take a genius to realize that this channel can easily be abused and utilized by potential terrorists. It seriously cannot be only me who sees what is wrong with this bending over backwards for "illegal" immigrants. If the US continues to bend over any more, for "illegal" immigrants, it will inevitably snap in half..

[Fandango 1,439]

I think we should start emailing BOA and tell them that if they continue this program, we will never do business with them again.

[beameup 0]

It can all be traced back to the US Immigration Act of 1965 and the Welfare legislation of that time under the Lyndon Johnson administration and the Democrats.

Illegals from Mexico previously worked in the U.S. and then returned back when the seasonal work ended.

After freely giving Welfare Benefit$, free Medical Care, Food Stamps and giving immigration preference to relatives of children born of illegal immigrants in the US., suddenly they quit returning "home" but instead stayed in the U.S. (Why not?).

As long as the Democrats stayed in power (40 years), nothing changed. Only recently has there been any effort to correct the situation (Republican majority in Congress).

Just ask the Taxpayers of California.

Since 9/11 the US government has cracked down on various financial accounts, as well as foreign accounts, held in the US yet let "illegal" immigrants continue to get a free ride.. It does not take a genius to realize that this channel can easily be abused and utilized by potential terrorists. It seriously cannot be only me who sees what is wrong with this bending over backwards for "illegal" immigrants. If the US continues to bend over any more, for "illegal" immigrants, it will inevitably snap in half..

[rebeccajo 14]

It's business.

Looks like Bank of America is now the place to apply for the legal immigrants with no SS number or credit history either.

[Jasman0717 9]

####### I am cutting up my B of A card!

[Alex+R 0]

Wait, it says it's for anyone who's had an account with them for three months...so....you can get a checking account there with no SS#?

[SoL. 0]

Wait, it says it's for anyone who's had an account with them for three months...so....you can get a checking account there with no SS#?

The new Bank of America card is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft, the Journal said.

Hmm after reading again the article, it seems like you can do that. So they would give an account to anybody? How weird is that? They must ask for some other info, I wonder what kind. C'mon, it can not be thaaaat easy...

Edited February 13, 2007 by Sol-de-Verano

[almaty 19]

bank of america is a typical bank..looking for a profit....f##k ethics

[peejay 327]

It's business.

And so is dope dealing, narcotics smuggling, pimping, kiddie porn, etc. It doesn't make it right and just because they (BoA) can do it...doesn't mean they should do it!

[Fandango 1,439]

Wait, it says it's for anyone who's had an account with them for three months...so....you can get a checking account there with no SS#?

I was wondering that myself

Tho I supose you could get the bank account with a fake ss# and the cc without one.

What the hell are they thinking? I mean profits are one thing, but this has the potential to be a nightmare - esp with identity theft so rampant.