The Mexican Consul General in San Francisco, Remedios Gómez Arnau, said that she does not have updated information on the repatriation of the bodies of the victims of the shooting in HMB (Half Moon Bay), Marciano Martínez and José Romero, who died on January 24 during the shooting near a farm.
In an interview with Peninsula 360 Press, the official said she was unaware of the status of the procedures for the bodies to be returned and released to Mexican soil.
He emphasized that financial assistance for the affected relatives is, first and foremost, in the hands of the U.S. authorities, since the crime for which the Oaxacans unfortunately lost their lives must be brought to justice and resolved first in that country.
However, he mentioned that the Mexican consulate is working alongside the authorities of the state of California, as well as the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, to support the affected families.
The consul said that the aid provided by the state of California is housing for one year, while the Mexican authorities have only provided support to qualifying relatives with the help of lawyers for other types of emergency relief such as financial, food, consular documentation, filling out paperwork, and advice on funeral homes that qualify for the aid programs offered by the San Francisco consulate.
The consul emphasized that she first seeks justice in the United States for the Mexicans and secondly that the reparations to which the affected families are entitled are granted. She mentioned that the consulate is following up on the trial in the case of the shooting in which the Mexicans unfortunately lost their lives.
"First, we seek justice for the Mexicans, and second, we seek reparations to which the families may be entitled. There are several avenues in which we support them," he said.
Regarding funeral expenses, Arnau said that local authorities will cover the costs. "We have agreements -with some funeral homes- so that prices are more accessible for Mexicans when they have an issue like this."
He added that local authorities are currently creating a support fund for affected families, but that it is up to the authorities of Half Moon Bay and San Mateo County to manage these funds.
Gómez Arnau promised to ask the Department of Consular Protection about the status of the release of the bodies of the deceased to Mexico.
During a meeting with the Mexican community in Redwood City and its surrounding areas, held on February 9 by Remedios Gómez Arnau, Consul General of San Francisco, California, and Jaime Vázquez Bracho, General Director of Consular Services of Mexico, the aim was to strengthen the various services that the consular network in the country currently offers and to listen to the doubts and concerns about various immigration issues on the part of the Mexican diaspora.
Present at the event were Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee, Verónica Escámez, director of Casa Círculo Cultural, as well as Mireya Magaña Gálvez, from Communications, Press, Media, and Diffusion of the Consulate General of Mexico in San José, who chaired the meeting.
Among the concerns raised by attendees were those regarding appointment dates at the Mexican consulate, the issuance of visas, the issuance of birth certificates, as well as the issuance of credentials from the National Electoral Institute and the National Institute for Older Adults (INAPAM).
However, during the session, more specific questions arose which Mexicans had the opportunity to express, such as: difficulty scheduling appointments online, losing appointments due to system errors, problems requesting dual citizenship procedures for minors and adults.
Added to this was the need for more mobile consulates, greater kindness and good treatment from the Consulate officials in San Francisco, as well as information on what to do if you have properties registered in Mexico and how to claim land from the United States.
Likewise, attendees took the floor to denounce the illegal sale of appointments for the Consulate with which fake agencies seek to benefit from the misinformation that exists among the Mexican population abroad regarding the procedures that can be carried out.
In response, Gómez Arnau and Vázquez Bracho said that there are no agencies that work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the Mexican population should refer exclusively to the Mexican official services.
Modernization, inclusion and implementation of six indigenous languages: Two of the challenges of the Mexican Consulate for 2023.
Jaime Vázquez Bracho, General Director of Consular Services, in an interview with P360P mentioned that one of the biggest challenges facing the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco is to continue modernizing, since they are moving to much more efficient systems that in the future will allow part of the procedures to be done online.
He also mentioned that they will also have telephone services that will be available in six indigenous languages: Nahuatl, Otomi, Mixtec, Zapotec and two other variants of Nahuatl.
Likewise, the new reforms are intended to effectively serve people with disabilities and older adults and to implement programs with a gender perspective.
Naturalization program for children of Mexicans
In turn, the Director General of Consular Services mentioned that every child of a Mexican who is born in North American territory has the right to Mexican nationality since it was in 2021 that Mexican law modified the limit of the degree of right to nationality by descent.
He mentioned that the process is relatively simple, however, the complicated part is that the consulates are in high demand. This is because more than 25 percent of the Mexican population in the United States is in the state of California, which makes the need for paperwork multiply, he said.
During the talk held at Casa Círculo Cultural, the officials clarified that consular appointments are issued exclusively on Fridays after 12 noon and that these are sold out in approximately two hours at least, so they encouraged attendees to make the necessary appointments as soon as possible.
Officials who also attended the meeting included Andre Vargas, from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco; Adolfo González, in charge of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco; as well as Hansel Walker from the Visión y Compromiso Organization.
Attendees received information on how to schedule appointments within the framework of the Saturday sessions, which must be scheduled on Tuesdays or by calling +1 (424) 309 0009 or contacting www.citas.sre.gob.mx I to www.consulmex.sre.gob.mx/sanfrancisco.
In addition, the Facebook page of the San Francisco consulate was shared, where people can find out about the following consular events. https://www.facebook.com/ConsulmexSFCO.
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