EDITOR’S NOTE: The following statement on this past Saturday’s visit by the Mexican Consulate to Blue Ridge Community College was submitted by Carolina McCready of the Henderson County Latino Advocacy Coalition.

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On Saturday, the Latino Advocacy Coalition of Henderson County sponsored an event to bring the Mexican Consulate to Western North Carolina.

The mission of LAC is to help facilitate the inclusion process of the community’s newest residents.

We believe immigrants play a vital role in the region both economically and culturally. Our programs and services are geared to help develop qualities inherent in healthy communities, such as self-sufficiency, self-confidence and civic participation.

The Mexican Consulate visit helps forward our organizational mission by providing the opportunity for citizens of Mexico living in the area to obtain or renew important identification documents.

The U.S. has consulate offices that are based in other countries that provide similar services to U.S. citizens living abroad. This event served close to 400 families in the area. They were able to receive Mexican passports and Mexican identification cards.

 Unfortunately this number doesn’t begin to serve everyone who could benefit from these services. The demand for appointments to see the Mexican Consulate is very high and Saturday we saw people who had traveled from South Carolina and other surrounding counties.

The process to request a visit from the Mexican Consulate is extensive and LAC has been working on this event for the past year. It has been more than three years since the Mexican Consulate has come to Henderson County. 

The event was held at Blue Ridge Community College and was in compliance with all the college’s policies and regulations.

As organizers of the Mexican Consulate visit, LAC paid the college for use of the facility.