- Mexican officials and strategic partners in Texas hold a discussion on the challenges posed by migration.
- Mexico is engaging in a strategy of contact, assistance and dialogue with the Mexican community and partners in case SB4 comes into force.
On the third day of her tour of the Mexico-U.S. border, Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, met with ten Mexican consuls in Texas (Texcoco Group) and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Mayor Nirenberg welcomed the consuls and the Mexican delegation headed by Foreign Secretary Bárcena, stressing the importance of the bilateral relationship and the challenges faced by both nations.
"The relationship between Mexico and the United States is unbreakable, it is fundamental, and it is essential. The friendships we have between our peoples and the fact that our legacy is founded here in San Antonio, in Mexico, is fundamental to the future of our communities. We have so much in common, from culture to aspirations," he said.
The mayor spoke on behalf of the South Texas Alliance of Cities, a group of mayors along the Texas border and other communities in the U.S. He highlighted the importance of the bilateral relationship in terms of partnerships, friendships and economics. He stated that San Antonio’s economic base is made up of the deep relationships between Mexican and U.S. businesses.
Secretary Barcena called for a future meeting between Texas mayors and Mexican border mayors.
At the meeting with the Texcoco Group, each consul presented the political, social and economic situation of their constituencies. The foreign secretary applauded the group, which was created to encourage more communication and analyze the challenges posed to each consulate by migration.
Secretary Bárcena said that, of the 37.7 million Mexicans in the United States, five million are undocumented and 22 percent of that population is in Texas, the state with the second largest presence of Mexicans in the United States.
"It is very important for us to understand the situation of our Mexican community in Texas, number one. Number two: what are the dynamics of migration in Texas? How much of this migration is coming from Mexico and how much is not? Because we see that we also have migration from South America and Central America and the Caribbean; the numbers are surpassing the numbers from Mexico," she said.
Foreign Secretary Bárcena referred to the coordination with President Joe Biden's team to address the changes in migration. In Mexico, this is addressed through our human mobility strategy, which includes coordination with other federal agencies.
She explained the part of the human mobility strategy that assists migrants who are in Mexico temporarily, for which reason Mexico seeks to improve migrant shelters and integration centers, forge labor partnerships with the private sector, and reinforce the assistance given to the Mexican community abroad.
Given the possibility of SB4 entering into force, Foreign Secretary Bárcena presented Mexico's strategy, which consists of:
- Maintaining direct contact between our consulates and Mexican communities to provide assistance and protection.
- Ongoing information campaigns so that our communities know their rights and how to exercise them, and know what to do in case the law comes into force or in case of abuse by authorities.
- Connecting the members of our communities with legal advice and representation services through our Legal Advice Program (PALE).
- Permanent contact and dialogue between our consulates and the authorities involved in the implementation of SB4.
- Working with the private and business sectors in Texas to create partnerships, and reject and denounce the negative economic and business consequences of the law.
- Involvement, through strategic partnerships, in legal cases against SB4, to make our position and arguments known in the courts by filing amicus curiae briefs.
The meeting was attended by the Consuls of Mexico in San Antonio, Rubén Minutti Zanatta; Presidio, Gamaliel Bustillos Muñoz; McAllen, Froylán Yescas Cedillo; Laredo, Juan Carlos Mendoza Sánchez; Houston, María Elena Orantes López; El Paso, Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de León; Eagle Pass, Vívian Juárez Mondragón; Del Río, Paloma Villaseñor Vargas; Dallas, Francisco de la Torre Galindo; and Brownsville, Judith Marcia Arrieta Munguía.
Secretary Bárcena Ibarra was accompanied by: Chief Officer for North America Roberto Velasco Álvarez; Director General for Consular Protection and Strategic Planning Vanessa Calva Ruiz; Director General of North American Political Affairs Cristina Planter Riebeling; the Director General of Inter-institutional Coordination and Follow-up, Luis Mingo Nyseen; and Communications Director José Manuel Gutiérrez Minera.
