Three months after the Casa Tlaxcala in New York was inaugurated, it has already provided more than 400 consultations to migrant residents who have needed some consular service and hopes to continue advancing with the Family Reunion program, which will seek to further strengthen ties between Tlaxcalans in Mexico and the United States.
This was stated by Gabriela Hernández Montiel, director of Migrant Assistance in the state of Tlaxcala, in an interview with Península 360 Press, who specified that under the command of Governor Lorena Cuéllar Cisneros, service has been provided to compatriots who need special documentation that is not so easy to obtain because many of them cannot travel to their place of origin to obtain it.
"This is the first administration that is concerned about everyone, including our fellow citizens. And it has taken on the task of working together with our colleague Marco Castillo, who is our advisor, to open Casa Tlaxcala," he said from Casa de los Pueblos, headquarters of Molino Informativo.
The task, said Hernández Montiel, was not easy, "but we are here now, giving results. Three months after the opening of Casa Tlaxcala, we have provided more than 400 consultations to our fellow citizens."
"We want to work on the family reunion program, which is very nice because we help families who have not been reunited after this pandemic and who, thank God, survived and are here, give them the opportunity to hug their parents and grandparents again. We are working on that program here in New York and we have already had four reunions," she said.
Although it is not known how many Tlaxcalans live in the Big Apple, the Mexican official assured that it is a significant population and that the state, together with Casa Tlaxcala, is already working on a census that will allow them to learn more about this community and its needs.
«We Tlaxcalans are very brave and we are everywhere. Another state in the American Union where they are also important is California, where we are also already in talks.»
In this regard, he said it is important for the state to get closer to the organizations.
"We are also seeking support from them because all Tlaxcalans are organized into groups and it is important to knock on doors."
Regarding the Reunion Program, he specified that all Tlaxcalans in the Bay Area can contact Casa Tlaxcala in New York so they can ask for advice and they can then give information to their relatives so they can approach the Migrant Assistance Office in the state of Tlaxcala and be enrolled in the program.
He added that, to promote the program, Governor Cuéllar is providing 50 percent of the flight, while all ground transportation is free, and a reception is organized for visitors.
"The only condition is that they cannot stay, I have to take them back and that is the only condition," he said.
Regarding services, Hernández pointed out that the issuance of birth certificates is one of the procedures and tasks that are most frequently carried out at Casa Tlaxcala, which manages, together with the Migrant Assistance area in Tlaxcala, the expediting of the issuance, as well as clarifications and corrections in the certificates.
When questioned about the Tlaxcalans who unfortunately lose their lives in the United States and who seek to repatriate the bodies but do not have the resources, the official stressed that the relatives of the deceased should approach the consulate that corresponds to them and request information.
However, he clarified that, in most cases, the consulate helps with 50 percent - more or less - of the transfer costs, while the other part must be paid by the family in order to repatriate the body to any municipality in Mexico City.
Finally, he highlighted that there are still several projects between the state of Tlaxcala and various cities in this country regarding reunions and for young people of Tlaxcalan origin to learn about their roots and culture through tours to said state of Mexico.
The telephone number for Casa Tlaxcala in New York is 3322175684, while the number for the Migrant Assistance area in Tlaxcala, Mexico, is 2464662888.
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