Ricardo Vera Lira, chief of the Jalisco branch of the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), welcomed 103 foreign immigrants into the fold during a patriotic ceremony held Friday, February 24 at the Centro Cultural Ajijic.
“This ceremony is to honor you for deciding to make Mexico your home,” the official declared to the recipients of 52 temporary and 51 permanent residency visas. “We want to assure you that all levels of government are committed to serving you so that you may live well and in safely in our country.”
To underscore the point Vera Lira brought along representatives from the Federal Police, Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado and community liaison Gloria Perales, as well as Guillermina Cortés Sanabria, head of Chapala’s INM branch office, who assisted in presenting the visa folders to citizens hailing from the United States, Canada, Guatemala and Colombia.
Vera has presided at similar public events scheduled periodically since he took charge of Guadalajara’s IMN headquarters three years ago. On this occasion the visa hand-out took on special meaning, coinciding with the celebration of Día de la Bandera, Mexico’s Flag Day.
The tone of the gathering seemed to reflect an unspoken message that Mexico opens its arms to immigrants, in contrast to draconian, xenophobic policies that are emerging in the country’s northern neighbor.
In response to some recent public criticism, Vera and Cortés defended their practice of accumulating a number of approved residency visas for distribution in formal ceremonies, usually programmed every four to six months. They stressed that once issued, the “green cards” may be retrieved immediately if needed for travel or other purposes.
Cortés also explained her office policy of loosely restricting visa pick-ups to Fridays only in order to streamline the process and reduce prolonged waiting on other days when IMN clerks handle clients turning in paperwork that requires thorough review.