The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) hails the approval by the Mexican Congress of legislation that will enable hundreds of thousands of Mexican nationals to get birth certificates. The change grants Mexican consulates the authority to issue certificates to Mexican nationals living abroad, including many immigrants to the US and other countries who were brought as children or who have lost their documentation. “This decision will enable thousands of Mexican immigrants to finally get a basic identity document,” said Artemio Arreola, ICIRR’s political director. “They will finally be able to get identification cards and documents, open bank accounts, register for school, and otherwise move forward with their lives.” Arreola helped lead advocacy for this reform, working with allies within the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, the consular network, and the Juntos Podemos project, a bi-national effort supports the integration of Mexican immigrants in the United States while strengthening important connections with Mexico.

Individuals like Maria Nicanor de la Paz Reyes will be able to finally secure her home with basic necessities such as gas and electricity, without the fear of having them shut off. She was in search of her original birth certificate in order to renew her Mexican passport issued to her in 2005. However, after contacting the proper authorities to obtain her documents, her information could not be found. “I have extreme urgency to obtain my birth certificate that is needed primarily to obtain my consulate identification card and while I don’t have my birth certificate, I won’t be able to obtain it,” she said in a letter pleading for attention to her case. “Our basic services like gas and electricity have been cut because I did not have proper valid identification in the state of Illinois.” This is only one case that will be solved out of hundreds of thousands. The new law takes effect immediately.