A consulate is a diplomatic establishment of Country A in Country B. One of its tasks is to give aid to citizens of Country A who are in Country B.
When I resided in Mexico, I went to the nearest American consulate several times and received good service there.
At what point however do consulate personnel cross the line and go from helping their fellow citizens to meddling in Country B? Certainly, it has occurred before.
An October 30th article in the New York Times reports on an activity carried out by the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, California. The title of the article is As ICE Raids Upend L.A., Mexican Immigrants Vent, and a Diplomat Listens .
Mexico’s Consul General in Los Angeles is Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez.
Source: Twitter X Account of Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez
From the New York Times: “Every Monday morning, Mexico’s top diplomat in Los Angeles, Carlos González Gutiérrez, holds public forums that have become a kind of help desk for Mexican nationals whose lives have been upended by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The meetings, known as ‘audiencias publicas,’ or public hearings in Spanish, have drawn dozens of people to the Mexican consulate since the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids began in the Los Angeles region in June.”
What are the meetings like?
“People grumble about difficulties nabbing an appointment for a Mexican passport or dual citizenship, or complain about the security guards who screen visitors at the consulate entrance. There are desperate pleas from people facing removal from the country, and there are other, odder inquiries. A man at one meeting claimed he could prove that the homeland of the Aztecs was in the United States and that he just needed the consulate’s help getting his research in front of President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico.”
“The meetings unfold in what feels like a colorful D.M.V. lobby. Mr. González Gutiérrez and his deputy, Gustavo Martínez Cianca, sit at a table draped in green cloth in the consulate’s lobby, with a Mexican flag and the seal of Mexico behind them.”
“The attendees fill a few rows of metal chairs in front of the table, as Mexican historical figures look on from a mural on a wall. The chatter from people waiting in line at the surrounding service windows makes it hard to hear those speaking.”
Here are some examples of things discussed: “One mother worried about being forced to return to Mexico, and urgently sought dual citizenship for her American children. A man wondered if he could self-deport with his family but bring his work tools, too. A woman fought back tears as she pulled up the leg of her jeans to reveal the device strapped to her ankle — evidence of her recent ICE detention.”
People at the meetings have shouted at the Consul General. “ ‘I have had very angry people yelling at me in those public hearings,’ said Mr. González Gutiérrez, who has served as the head of the consulate since last year. ‘I have had very concerned, anxious people crying as a way of catharsis in front of me.’ “
The meetings actually started before the ICE raids. “The meetings began in the spring to fulfill a mandate from President Sheinbaum requiring the country’s consulates in the United States to do more to engage with constituents. The focus of the sessions shifted after the federal raids started on June 6.”
So is Consul General Gonzalez Gutierrez crossing the line into meddling?
“Yet Mr. González Gutiérrez said that as foreign guests of the American government, there is a limit to how much he and his office can do for the Angelenos who show up on Monday mornings.”
“The consulate often helps people get legal advice or provides financial assistance. A network of immigration lawyers that works with the consulate offers free consultations, and in some cases, the office helps pay for legal fees. But Mr. González Gutiérrez stops short of speaking out against the Trump administration’s hard line on immigration at the meetings, even though Mexican nationals living in Los Angeles said they wished he would.”
“ ‘We are not activists,’ Mr. González Gutiérrez said. ‘We don’t go to demonstrations. I don’t opine about the president of this country or the politics of this country.’ ”
It sounds as though Consul General Gonzalez Gutierrez is not crossing that line into meddling.
