Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) gave itself a pat on the back at the start of the year, highlighting the advances made in protecting the rights of Mexican citizens abroad.
In addition to publishing a “Guide to Consular Protection” for the first time, the SRE set up a free hotline to provide information about the community resources available throughout the United States. From July 4 to December 16, the call center received about 24,000 calls, the agency reported.
The SRE’s network of 51 consulates in the United States assisted with 178,214 cases of protection in 2013, including more than 14,000 cases of unaccompanied children and teens in the first eight months of the year.
Of these 91.93 percent were males, 58.12 percent aged between 12 and 16 years old and 39.55 percent 17 years old.While not directly involving itself in the immigration reform debate in the United States, the SRE said it has “has acted strategically to encourage an informed and substantive dialogue with the various stakeholders in favor of reform.” The agency saids it provided information and guidance to the Mexican community in the United States through “forums, workshops and information sessions, legal clinics, conferences, meetings with authorities and training activities in order to prevent fraud, abuse and false expectations.”
The SRE has also been active in assisting young illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors applying for conditional permanent residency – the Dream Act. About 146,798 potential beneficiaries of the program have been assisted, the agency reported, noting that “compared with other nationalities, Mexicans are more likely to have their application accepted (99.6 percent accepted).”
The SRE said the Mexican government’s “commitment to guaranteeing the rights and supporting the legitimate aspirations of Mexicans abroad” and “the modernization and positioning of our consular network” are among “the most important foreign policy achievements of our country.”