URBANA — The General Consulate of Guatemala in Chicago partnered with the New American Welcome Center to bring its services to Urbana this weekend.
Over two days, the consular staff helped Guatemalan nationals obtain passports and consular ID’s. The mobile consulate was part of an ongoing effort to make consular services more accessible to Guatemalans across the country.
Rosario Ovando Castro is the Consul General of the consulate and led the 12-person team onsite. She said part of the team arrived in Urbana a day in advance to transport computers, printers and take care of other details.
“We have different services, so we had to look at the space and then find an idea where the better light is so that we can take the pictures, how to start, how to welcome everybody,” she said. “It’s like a mini consulate that you have to bring.”
Castro also said the consul has been in Urbana before, but they decided to come again because there was still a community need based on consular applications they had received.
Belinda Guillen, the immigrant family services manager at the New American Welcome Center, said that when it became clear the consulate was planning a visit, her team stepped in to provide a space and help.
“Our organization is a private space,” she said in Spanish. “So, it would help people have more privacy and safety.”
Ahead of the visit, the center also hosted informational workshops to help community members prepare for their appointments. Center staff helped people create emails and download the consulate’s mobile app.
Guillen said members of Pixan Konob’, an indigenous Mayan interpreter group, were also present at the workshops and appointments to help those who were not fluent in Spanish.
The consulate had over 350 appointment slots available, according to Guillen, and a limited number were same-day appointments for residents of Champaign-Urbana. A wait list was also created for people who were not able to register in advance.
While attendees waited for their documents to be completed, they learned about their legal rights and protections when interacting with police or ICE agents. Local organizations, like The Refugee Center and Rape Advocacy, Counseling, and Education Services, were also present to inform people of their programs.
Castro said she and her team are honored to support Guatemalans in the United States.
“It is a very noble job, the one that we have, when you have the opportunity and when you are hired to serve your nationals, especially when they are away from their country,” she said.
Castro said it was inspiring to see the support the Guatemalan community has in the area and hopes to offer more appointments in Champaign and other parts of downstate Illinois in the future.