SANTA ANA – President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration have caused concern among many Mexicans, and the Consulate of Mexico in Santa Ana – along with the 49 other consulates across the country – have responded by becoming “centers for legal defense.”
The directive to consulates on Friday to convert themselves into “authentic defenders of the rights of immigrants” from Mexico came from the country’s President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Come Monday, the consulate at 2100 E. Fourth St. will have a booth set up during business hours where Mexicans in the community can get their immigration questions and concerns addressed by attorneys and agency officials. The program is designed specifically to protect them.
“Especially in light of the executive orders, the uncertainty among the people — we want to always give them information that is reliable so they can make their decisions,” Consul of Mexico Mario Cuevas Zamora said in Spanish during Friday’s press conference. “It’s the same (services), but reloaded.”
The Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles also introduced its program and booth on Friday afternoon.
In Santa Ana, the consulate’s booth will have “know your rights” information in the event of detention by immigration authorities and screenings for Mexicans to understand their options if they face deportation. In addition, the consulate will launch a campaign on preventing deportation and provide workshops promoting dual residency.
Business hours are 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday; no appointments are necessary.
Across the country, 2.7 million Mexicans are eligible for U.S. citizenship and many continue to live in the shadows, Cuevas said.
“Mexican residents who have spent a lot of time in the U.S., become residents,” he said. “That’s the best way to protect yourself because not even U.S. citizens can help you if you get a DUI or other offense.”
Trump’s executive orders in January called for a border wall to be built between the U.S. and Mexico and threatened to pull funding from sanctuary cities. In Orange County, only Santa Ana has declared itself a sanctuary city.
The new consulate program will encourage Mexicans to prepare information kits with their paperwork in case they are detained.
“People who don’t have documents – it doesn’t mean they don’t have rights,” Cuevas said. “People can face a judge (before deportation).”
Immigration attorney Vivian Szawarc, whose law office is near the consulate and who attended the press conference, welcomed the program, saying it launched “with a feeling of emergency” in the community.
The consulate also is working to join forces with the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County and other organizations that can provide legal advice to Mexicans pro bono via a toll-free 800 number.
