Thread: As immigrants move, consulates branch out

As immigrants move, consulates branch out
Latin American consulates are taking their show on the road to reach constituents who live far from Miami.
BY JERRY BERRIOS

It was 5:20 a.m. and still dark when Marize Almeida dos Santos arrived at the Brazilian mobile consulate on a recent Tuesday.

Twenty-five people were already ahead of her at the First Brazilian Baptist Church in Pompano Beach.

For the next six hours, Almeida dos Santos, a Pompano Beach housekeeper, became one of thousands of immigrants, mostly from Latin American countries, who line up at various churches, schools and community centers locally and around the country to get help from temporary consular outposts.

''It's a marathon,'' said Almeida dos Santos, who needed to get her passport and other documents in order.

Because some immigrants are no longer clustered in urban areas where consulates usually are based, the consulates find space to rent or use in those communities. And the scene is repeated in Georgia, Puerto Rico, Mississippi, Alabama and other places.

Immigrants are springing up in nontraditional communities like Charlotte and Las Vegas, said Thomas Boswell, professor of geography at the University of Miami.

''There has been an increasing dispersal,'' Boswell said. ``There is no question about it.''

Several South Florida consulates -- including Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico -- offer the mobile consulate service, mainly on weekends.

Brazil, however, had decided to hold its mobile consulate hours on Tuesdays.

FILLS A NEED

Almeida dos Santos doesn't have a car, making it difficult for her to get to the Consulado-Geral do Brasil in Miami. She wishes the Pompano Beach site would open twice a week instead of just once.

''It isn't enough,'' she said, clearly frustrated. ``There are too many people.''

While mobile consulates save immigrants time and money, they don't take away long lines and the aggravation of dealing with bureaucracy.

The situation probably won't improve anytime soon.

''We want to do more but it is just impossible,'' said Artur Oliveira, Brazilian deputy consul in Miami. ``We don't have enough people.''

The Miami consulate picked up the workload of the Brazilian consulates in Puerto Rico and Atlanta after they closed in 1999.

The consulate's territory covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.

CATCHING UP

A Brazilian consulate is scheduled to open soon in Atlanta, where a growing Brazilian population has sprung up.

The Argentine consulate faces the same challenges as its South American neighbors, although Argentina does have an Atlanta consulate.

Argentine officials travel twice a year to Orlando and Puerto Rico to assist citizens. Staffers work 16-hours days, said Maximo Gowland, deputy consul of the Consulate of Argentina in Miami.

The biggest need: passports.

The backlog for Argentine passports -- needed for travel back home -- is so severe at the Miami office that citizens must wait until February, Gowland said. At the mobile consulate, applicants get their passports on the same day.

Karina Gutierrez, a Deerfield Beach real estate agent, was feeling pretty grateful last Tuesday when she got Brazilian passports for her three sons, including 2 ½-year-old identical twins James and John.

`A BLESSING'

''It's a blessing to have this here,'' said Gutierrez, a Rio de Janeiro native. ``They are so patient with people. They are doing a wonderful job.''

The Guatemalan consulate holds monthly mobile sessions for its citizens, most recently last weekend in Jupiter, where hundreds lined up at St. Peter Catholic Church.

The consulate invited the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to help coordinate foot traffic, fulfilling another of its goals. Deputies were there to help, not to check for improper paperwork.

''They have to learn how to trust in their police,'' said Beatriz Illescas, Guatemala's consul general in Miami. ``They are part of the community.''

COOPERATION

Deputies helped keep order and moved the lines along. A social services agency and two banks were on hand -- courtesy of Deputy José Rendón, of the Palm Beach Sheriff's community relations unit -- to advise immigrants on issues such as healthy pregnancies and keeping their money safe.

Rendón has helped organize half a dozen events like this in the past, hoping to allay immigrant fears of police.

''If they are the victim of a crime, they need to report it,'' Rendón said. ``They should not be afraid because they will not be deported.''

Many immigrants don't have proper ID, so if they get in an accident, it could take days to find out who they are, Rendón said.

Also, many walk around with wads of cash, making them easy targets for robbers.

After carpenter Francisco Pérez got his paperwork done for his passport and consular ID, he got in line to open a bank account.

His documents serve another important purpose while Congress is discussing immigration reform, which may include residency restrictions.

''It is also a record of being here in the United States,'' said Pérez, 30, originally from Sololá, Guatemala, who has been in this country for nearly five years.

KEY DOCUMENTATION

Mobile consulates are opportunities for consular officials to learn about problems and issues from their citizens abroad.

For example, Mexican officials noticed an increase in passport applications at monthly mobile events in 2004, said Consul General Jorge Lomonaco.

They uncovered a scam, in which immigrants tried to use their passports to get driver's licenses illegally.

Now, the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are working together to spot offenders.

Mexican officials used to have a mobile consulate in Homestead, but stopped in 2002. ''They have a consulate that is a half-hour drive away, while the others are three or four hours a way,'' Lomonaco said. ``It is a pretty easy decision.''

And such community outreach can have a practical benefit, especially during hurricane season.

''After the emergency is over, the mobile consulate is the best way to see how the community fared,'' Lomonaco said.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/15061283.htm

Latin American consulates are taking their show on the road to reach constituents who live far from Miami.

And this is exactly what will happen if the Pence amnesty bill gets passed. "Going home" simply means going to the nearest mobile consulate.

Right you are COUNT!

I've said before and will again.......Consulates must be removed! Mex has more consulates than any other country. An exorbitant number.

Because some immigrants are no longer clustered in urban areas where consulates usually are based, the consulates find space to rent or use in those communities.

Those renting the space should be charged with conpiring to aid illegal immigrants!

Many immigrants don't have proper ID, so if they get in an accident, it could take days to find out who they are, Rendón said.

Duh, that's because they are here illegally! How about we deport them before they get into an accident. :wink

Deputies helped keep order and moved the lines along. A social services agency and two banks were on hand -- courtesy of Deputy José Rendón, of the Palm Beach Sheriff's community relations unit -- to advise immigrants on issues such as healthy pregnancies and keeping their money safe.

That is called aiding and abetting ciminal law breakers.