In line with the priorities and objectives of the Mexican government, the Foreign Ministry's area for consular protection and strategic planning provided virtual training to the Mexican consulates in the U.S. on the legal assistance available to Mexicans through the External Legal Assistance Program (PALE).
The training included technical details, good consular practices and a comprehensive overview of the ministry's consular protection programs and actions. The PALE program provides essential legal assistance for Mexicans in the U.S. It signs contracts with lawyers, law firms and non-governmental organizations specializing in U.S. law in order to respond to our community's need for legal services.
More than 200 people from the consulates' protection departments received training during the event, including members of the Mexican Foreign Service and independent professional service providers. The training session was held in preparation for the upcoming Week of External Legal Assistance, which will be held for the first time in the 50 Mexican consulates in the U.S. from October 24-28 in order to give more publicity to the PALE legal assistance program and to integrate it more fully with other consular actions.
The PALE program was created in 2000. As of June 20, 2022, it had handled 91,937 cases and signed 3,243 contracts with legal specialists.
Following the instructions of Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and the Chief Officer for North America, Roberto Velasco, the Foreign Ministry will continue to strengthen the ability of our consular network to provide consular assistance and protection in a timely and proactive manner.
