Today, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard presented the improvements being made to Mexico's consular services in North America. The goal is to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic and increase the ability of the consulates to handle the demographic changes experienced by the Mexican community in the United States in recent years.
The following strategies will be put in place:
- The consular districts will be reconfigured in Albuquerque, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Miami and New York. This will redistribute workloads and provide more efficient service.
- Two new consulates will be opened in New Jersey and Oklahoma.
- The use of mobile consulates and consulates on wheels will increase.
In his remarks, Secretary Ebrard said that the reassignment and modification of consular districts is being done to “improve our service, assistance and proximity [to the community], and our ability to resolve problems and do our work of protecting and defending migrants in the United States better." He recognized that the Mexican community is one of the most important in the U.S., "in terms of its contribution to the growth of the North American economy, and for all of its services, including its armed forces."
The Foreign Secretary said that the President's priority is to heed and assist the Mexican community in the United States, since “it has been essential to surmounting the pandemic and its effects in Mexico. The least we can and should do is to concern ourselves with them and ensure that we are providing them with the best service that we can."
On behalf of the Mexican government, the embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C. will obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State, in accordance with U.S. law and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
In addition, on January 1, 2022, the remuneration of the independent professional service providers working with Mexico's consulates in North America will increase by ten percent. They number 1,635 in the United States and 82 in Canada.
Also attending the event were the Chief Officer for North America, Roberto Velasco; the Director General of Consular Services, Jaime Vázquez; and the Director General of the Foreign Service and Human Resources, Moisés Poblanno.
On behalf of the Mexican government, the Foreign Service continues to work to strengthen Mexico's consular network in North America and ensure that all Mexicans are able to obtain the services they need in a timely manner.
