Mexico announces agreement to renew expiring visas for hundreds of consular employees

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SRE) of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, announced on Tuesday the arrival of

an agreement with the Administration of the president, Joe Biden, to extend visas to hundreds of consular employees

whose work permits expire in August and who do not they had the possibility of extension.   

Ebrard described the agreement as "an achievement for Mexico" and "a good solution" for the more than 500 Independent Professional Service Providers (PSPI) or local consular employees who work in the 50 consulates and the Embassy of Mexico in the United States.

These officials, subcontracted by the SRE through temporary alliances, feared losing their jobs because their contract renewal was in question due to a diplomatic resolution released in 2016 that limits the validity of their A-2 visas to five years without possibility of renewal.  

["We are on the edge of the abyss."

A massive layoff due to visa problems threatens to collapse the Mexican consulates in the US]

“All that was said is that this was not going to be achieved, that it was impossible, and it has already been achieved.

He who perseveres reaches

”, highlighted Ebrard in a press conference from the National Palace of Mexico.

The Chancellor reported that

an extension of the term was achieved for 416 PSPI out of a total of 444 cases presented in the negotiation with the United States Department of State

(DOS, for its acronym in English) but that "some requirements will have to be met." to be able to extend the contract between 1 and 5 years.

The National Committee of Local Consular Employees in the United States, which represents the 1,642 employees that operate in the Mexican diplomatic network in this country, has taken the announcement of the Mexican government as "a great advance" and "very good news."

Consulate of Mexico in New York National Committee of Local Consular Employees in the United States

"We acknowledge the efforts that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made in favor of the renewal of the A-2 visas of Local Employees in the United States, particularly the interest that the United States Ambassador, Esteban Moctezuma, showed since his arrival in Washington," said Dulce Flores, spokeswoman for the Committee, told Noticias Telemundo Digital.

Flores, who works at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles, clarified, however, that

to date the Mexican government has not formally notified any local consular employee of the results of the DOS negotiations

.  

“In other words, we still don't know to whom of us the work visas are going to be extended or for how long.

We also do not know who will be fired, "said Flores.

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Jonathan Rivera, also a spokesperson for the Committee and an employee at the Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was pleased with Ebrard's announcement to extend the visa of those who, like him,

were “in limbo due to uncertainty” that surrounded these negotiations

.

"We still do not know who are the 28 employees to whom the visa will not be extended nor why it was not extended or what will happen to these people and their families," said Rivera, who added that, in the absence of a communication On the part of the officials with the employees, there is still confusion about their future employment.

"

Until this morning there were still employees buying tickets to return to Mexico

, looking for universities for our children or selling our belongings to prepare for when we are fired and what happened to colleagues in December does not happen to us," said Rivera.

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Rivera refers to the 50 consular employees who were fired at the end of 2020 without prior notice and who, according to the Committee, affected the services of the consulates of several cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, the busiest and those that generate the most revenue. 

One of the points that was not mentioned in the conference on Tuesday was

the commitment that Ebrad made in December to adjust the employment situation of consular employees who do not have certain labor rights such

as social security, retirement savings fund or insurance. doctor for your immediate family members.   

"An issue that [Ebrard] himself referred to as labor justice," concluded Rivera.

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Noticias Telemundo Digital contacted the Mexican Embassy in Washington to learn more details about the announcement released today, but we did not receive a response.

Ambassador Moctezuma announced clearly on the social network Twitter that he will hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to give "details of the positive decision" of DOS on "personnel who provide services in the consular network."

According to data provided by the same SRE to Telemundo Noticias Digital, obtained through the law on access to public information,

the Mexican consulates in the United States collected more than 60 million 846,000 dollars in the first four months of 2021

, when in the same In the 2020 period, in the midst of the pandemic, the collection was only $ 39 million 506,000, the equivalent of 35% less.