Mexican citizens living in the United States can retrieve their birth certificates much more easily now, thanks to the Mexican government’s decision to offer the certificates at 50 Mexican consulates throughout the United States, rather than offering them only in Mexico at government offices.
Arturo Sanchez, consul for press and commercial affairs in Santa Ana, California, told CBS Los Angeles that Mexican immigrants want birth certificates so they can obtain passports or consular identification cards in order to apply for a California driver’s license or for relief from deportation under President Barack Obama’s new policy.
Prior to Thursday, Mexican immigrants, who comprise roughly half of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., often asked relatives back in Mexico to obtain their birth certificates, a process that took far more time.
Sanchez pointed out that the number of daily appointments at the Mexican consulate in Santa Ana has mushroomed in the last twelve months, rising to 400 per day, a jump of nearly one-third.