Mobile Consulate serves over 500 Guatemalans

On August 17 and 18 members of the Mobile Consulate under the direction of Vice Consul Ricardo Gonzalez came to Postville to assist the members of the Postville Guatemalan community. A consulate is like an embassy in that its focus is primarily on providing services to their country’s citizens in the host country, such as issuing passports, providing assistance during emergencies, and helping with legal and administrative matters. 

St. Paul Lutheran Church was the site for the Mobile Consulate. There were just over 500 people served and many more who could not get an appointment. “There are ten Mobile Consulates held throughout the year,” notes Gonzalez. “I did not expect this. It was a big response in Postville.”

With a restructuring of territories, the Consulate of Guatemala in Chicago, that once worked with the people from Postville, now moved to Omaha, Nebraska. This Consular Section Jurisdiction is responsible for serving Guatemalans in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. “In April of 2023 was the last time I was able to take a van load to the Chicago Consulate office. People were having trouble getting appointments,” notes Kathi Mitchel, a volunteer with the Northeast Iowa Peace & Justice Center and UCC Church. “By the time the new office opened in Omaha in 2024, the list was over 300 people.”  

The first step in getting to see the Consulate is to make an appointment, which is done online. The Postville Library was instrumental in helping people get registered. Once at the event this weekend, people needed to have proof of identity, such as a birth certificate and a money order to pay the fees for the documents they are requesting. They must also have a copy of a water bill or electric bill to show the address where they are living and get their mail, as the documents they are requesting are sent from the main office in Omaha. 

Gonzalez came with a staff of 10 people and Postville provided volunteers to help with registration, making copies, and more throughout the two days. Gonzalez explained the staff is able to start 10-15 people every 15-20 minutes. It takes roughly one to one and a half hours for a person to work through the entire process; from paperwork, proof of identity, and in some cases having their photo taken for identification cards. 

“The Guatemalans are in the process of when they need documentation for representing themselves,” states Gonzalez. “The passport, the Counselor ID are documents that the United States accepts from them for making all the processes. Such as taxes.” According to a 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics irregular immigrants contributed a total of $96.7 billion that year in federal, state, and local taxes. The Bureau also found that irregular immigrants would contribute $40.2 billion more per year to these taxes if they had access to work authorization. These figures do not include the funds raised from sales and excise taxes. Gonzalez also pointed out that most of the irregular immigrants have federal payroll taxes taken from their wages but are never able to draw from these programs, such as Medicare and Social Security. 

According to USAID there is not a great deal of economic opportunity for the Guatemalans in their own country so they are seeking that opportunity in the USA. When asked why he thought Guatemalans and others from Central America were coming to the USA Gonzalez stated “They are looking for economic opportunities. Our countries are too small, everyone is looking for dreams, for making it different in other countries or with different people. In Guatemala they can do a lot of things but here in the United States it is appreciated. For them it is a win /win.”

One of the main things Gonzalez wanted people to know about the work he is doing and the Guatemalan people is “Give us an opportunity. It is the only thing that we need. Every culture is different, every person is different. We can’t be only Latin Americans, we are Mayan people. We speak 25 different languages in our country. These people are not bad. They came here without knowing the languages, they have respect, values, and they have everything you do. Inside they are people and can do whatever you ask and they are going to do it gladly.”

If you are interested in supporting these efforts, go to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors website or call 563.380.4710.