Thread: Ecuadoran consul makes a road stop

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... road_stop/

Consul makes a road stop
By Missy Ryan, Globe Correspondent | December 18, 2005

The folding chair and the simple wooden desk stuck in the back of a Latino grocery were a far cry from the marble halls of Washington's Embassy Row. But Beatriz Stein, the Ecuadoran consul, didn't seem to mind.

The small, impeccably dressed woman immersed herself in diplomatic business recently when she brought her ''mobile consulate" to Milford.

Antonio Yupangui, 30, leaning in close to the desk, gripped a pen deliberately and slowly signed a new Ecuadoran passport, an official ID that will make it easier for him to cash checks or open a bank account.

''This is my time to help," Stein said over the tinny cumbia, or Latino dance music, wafting through the store.

In addition to issuing passports, Stein can register US-born children as dual American-Ecuadoran citizens, and authorize powers of attorney so an immigrant can, for example, designate someone to sell their house back home. The consul can even wed couples under Ecuadoran law.

Around the state, in towns and cities with sizable Ecuadoran communities such as Worcester and Fall River and Lawrence, Stein sets up shop on weekends in immigrant centers, community colleges, and churches.

The consul's visit to Milford last weekend was a first, a milestone for a town that is grappling with a small but fast-growing colony of Spanish-speaking immigrants who have come for construction jobs and a quieter lifestyle than they found in bigger American cities.

To get a passport, the immigrants must present Ecuadoran identification and pay $145. They would still need to get a visa or a valid Social Security number to get a Massachusetts driver's license, but at least, with the passport, ''they have some identity," Stein said.

''Clearly, you cannot use a foreign passport to do many things here in the US, but it is still a form of ID, and it's good to have it on you, even if you're undocumented," said Elena Letona, executive director of the Cambridge-based immigrant rights group Centro Presente Inc.

Around 20 people, some carrying young children, ambled into the Unienvios shop on Main Street over several hours to inquire about consulate services. While in the store, they picked up Latino goods ranging from chili paste to shoes or delved into fridges for an Ecuadoran-produced soda pop.

Stein sees herself as a voice for the immigrants, many of whom don't speak English and want to stay in the shadows because they fear law enforcement and immigration officials.

She wants to kick-start conversations with local officials in the towns and cities where Ecuadorans have landed, believing dialogue ''would be much better for the community" because it would head off misunderstandings.

And perhaps most importantly, she says, she wants to teach newcomers about the way things are done here.

''They don't know so much about the rules, about the laws . . . and with the language barrier, it's a big problem," Stein said. Back in South America, laws about things like drinking in public or driving can be very different. And even more frequently, laws on the books aren't enforced at all.

Milford has long been home to many Italian-Americans, and more recently to a well-established Brazilian community. But in the past year, the Ecuadoran community has been growing. And there have been growing pains.

Earlier this year, two Ecuadoran women were charged with cruelty to animals after residents complained they were beating a sheep they were planning to slaughter, said Police Chief Tom O'Loughlin. He chalked that incident up to cultural differences. Police have also received complaints about the new arrivals drinking in public parks.

O'Loughlin says police in Milford are focusing on educating the immigrants, who might not know about local laws.

In an October Town Meeting, the town passed regulations to crack down on overcrowding in rental units that officials say are often packed with immigrants. It also outlawed check cashing stores, which many immigrants without bank accounts use to cash paychecks.

For their part, some immigrants say some residents don't like them, and many say they're scared of police and immigration authorities.

Up to now, there hasn't been any real community group to help Ecuadorans ''open a field for soccer or volleyball . . . or to help people in a tight situation, with their papers, or to orient people," said Carlos Pino, 23, who dropped into the store to buy groceries.

Stein is a Needham resident who came to this country in 1969 and is now married to an Austrian-born American. She took the job of consul, an unpaid post, three years ago.

Exactly how many Ecuadorans now live in Milford is unclear. Estimates range from 300 to 500. But they are visible in this quaint New England town -- women with long, black hair walking downtown in pairs, men in construction boots and warm-up jackets eating lunch at a local Latino restaurant, groups playing volleyball near the high school.

Like Ecuadorans in other parts of the state, many have come to Milford from places like urban New Jersey, where they say good jobs were scarce and crime was high.

Maria Caguana, a 25-year-old Ecuadoran, moved here two years ago from Newark. She works four days a week in a hotel, while her husband does construction. She says life in Milford is quieter.

The reception has been good overall, ''but some people don't like Hispanics," said Caguana, who was trailed around the room by her 5-year-old son, Edgar.

Between 1.5 million and 2 million Ecuadorans now live in the United States, said Jorge Icaza, consul general for Ecuador's embassy in Washington, D.C.

Ruben Dario Guaman, whose four-month trek to the United States took him across two continents, on foot sometimes and sometimes hidden in the back of trucks, says the move has been worth it because he makes more than 10 times what he could in Ecuador.

It was worth it even though he had to pay off $9,500 in ''coyote" -- or human smuggler -- fees when he arrived, he said.

The soft-spoken 24-year-old makes around $800 a week in cash as a roofer, enough to wire money home twice a month.

Towns and cities across the United States are debating how to cope with a growing number of immigrants.

According to a report released last week by the Center for Immigration Studies, both legal and illegal immigration are gaining speed. The report said nearly half of the almost 8 million immigrants who have arrived in this country since 2000 did so illegally.

Stein is optimistic that her countrymen can flourish in America.

''They are good people, honest, hard workers," who have dreamed of coming to the United States so they can give their families a better life, she said.

Because most of the Ecuadorans in Milford speak little English, Stein hopes to bring in volunteers to conduct English classes on weekends.

''I think the next step is education," Stein said.

Carlos Pino, who has lived in Milford for two years, said the time is right to organize the town's Ecuadoran community -- because it's small and there is much to be done.

''It's a lovely town, a town of opportunities, where one can grow and can make Milford grow, too," he said.

And get public benefits reduce wages and take American jobs.